Sex Therapy
by Jagtas
Summary: Castle and Beckett goes undercover at a marriage counselling retreat to catch the killer... Along the way, they will have to act like a married couple... with sex therapy included. What's the worst could happen, right? -Extreme language&sexual.
1. Chapter 1

**-Sex Therapy**

**Summary: **Castle and Beckett goes undercover at a marriage counselling retreat to catch the killer... Along the way, they will have to act like a married couple... with sex therapy included. What's the worst could happen, right?

**A/N:** Forgive me if you are having a bit of a hard time following the story. I have no intention of making it case-heavy because frankly, I am all about the smut... Yes, I'm sorry if that turns you off. So please, do yourself a favor and read something else. And I suck when it comes to describing epic scenarios and all that jazz. Also, I admit that the storyline idea might have been used before but this is a completely different version... but my type of a fun version.

Also, I'd like to make a minor note that I'm hard of hearing in real life, so English isn't particularly my strong suit. Bear with me, thank you, and enjoy. :) Please review if you would like. I do not even know if people will like it. This isn't beta'd.

**Rated M for language, sexual content, and smut in later chapters.**

**Spoilers: Up to season 4, before 47 seconds episode.**

**Disclaimer:**I do not own Castle.

* * *

><p>Sensation of pressure centred in the lower abdomen of Kate's body tensed up at the state of release. Waves of intense pleasure exploded through her trembling body, irregular breathing escaped through her swollen parted lips. At loss for words nor could shout this one out. Her voice was silence by the overwhelming orgasm. She was in heaven, and it all happened so fast. Wishing her orgasm would last longer than 15 seconds but she would take whatever she could get. Those few precious seconds of heavy breathing, body flushing and electricity flowing. It seemed enough at the time, but she was always wanting more.<p>

Best part of all were the aftershocks, enjoying the ripples of electricity through her body with an utmost enjoyment and relaxation. Her eyelids fluttering to wake up and gazing into the eyes of the person who gave her a mind blowing orgasm. It wasn't long before the weight on her body lifted to roll off.

There was a silence between the two. Catching their breaths and listening to each other.

Til then a light murmur was heard, "Rick..."

* * *

><p>Two weeks earlier<p>

"Good morning, Detective Beckett." Castle in his usual charming self bringing himself over to Beckett's desk with two hot cups of coffee held in his hands. She raised her chin to look at Castle, taking the coffee from his hand and mumbled thanks before taking her first sip of the day. He took his usual spot in his seat next to her desk, taking his drop as well. "Do we have a case?"

"No." She said bluntly, her gaze shifted to the stack of paperwork on her desk. As usual, scribbling away to fill in the blanks. "But we do have some paperwork to fill out. I wouldn't mind an extra set of hands here, Castle."

_Oh, I bet __you __do. After breaking things off with Josh, you must be in a desire need of a -_

Beckett noticed she was given a small treatment. Her eyes now looked up with her, shifting her head to meet with his. He was staring. All she had to do was to frown at him and speak up.

"Castle!" Boy, she was annoyed.

Hearing his own name had pulled him out of the gutter. "What?" He questioned her, catching the scowl Beckett was giving him. Oh god, you're cute when you get angry. But not when you're angry with me. Castle thought to himself again. Putting himself back into the gutter and totally ignoring the fact that she was annoyed with him.

"Go home Castle. I don't need you here." Just when she thought he was listening for a second there, he wasn't responding again. His mind had wandered off again, but his stare held on her.

"Castle!"

Castle's shoulders jumped up slightly, startled by her scary expression. "Jeez! I was imagining – uh, I was thinking about some stuff."

She rolled her eyes, "Do that at home then. I don't need you to distract me unless you're willing to help me out here."

And back into the woods he goes.

_I'd love to help you__out, Detective Beckett._ A mischievous smirk plastered upon his face. He was imagining things again. Ever since she had broken things off with Josh, he couldn't help but found himself back into the fantasy of themselves in bed. Strapped to the bedpost with handcuffs. In the shower... Her desk, his desk... Gates' desk. _Wait, what? Richard, you dog._

"CASTLE!" Beckett was furious, her voice was raised.

"Mom and dad fighting again." Esposito quietly mumbled at his desk. Ryan was at his as well, their backs were facing each other, but Beckett's voice was almost loud enough for the whole precinct to hear. A few detectives nearby couldn't help themselves but to look at the two. Wondering when she's ever going to cut him some slack and shack up for once. The bet has been going on for too long now... No way they're backing out of this one. Who knows? One spur of the moment and they'll be at it.

His smirk was wiped off by the sound of her voice. Now he was anxious, seeing that he may have pushed Beckett a little over the edge. He had the urge to slap himself out of this one, and get his head back in the game but decided to charm his way out of this. Figured it might be safer. "I'm sorry, Detective. I can't help myself when I'm distracted by a hot cop."

She wanted to smack him on the arm. No, wait. Take that back. She wanted to kiss him... No, smack him and then passionately kiss the shit out of him. Beckett had thought of so many ways to kiss him again ever since their little decoy mission back then. She was with Josh at the time, but now he's no longer around. During the 47 seconds after being shot, she had finally heard him say those three little words she longed for. Even though the timing sucked, but she pulled through in the end.

Months had gone by since she heard him. Not even once she could bring herself to admit to Castle that she had remembered everything. She lied to his face but how could he have asked her when she was tired and fighting in the damn hospital bed. Maybe another time, it would have been a better scenario.

"...Beckett?" Castle quietly whispered her name, catching her gaze swaying slightly to the side. By then he knew her mind had wandered off. Giving him the right to put on a small grin, now it was his turn to fuck with her. He carefully leaned in close to her without any sudden movement that would snap her out of it and whispered, "I want to kiss you all over, Kate."

Just like that, Beckett snapped her glance back at Castle's.

"Uh," His eyes widened. "I-I..." Clearing his throat. Safe word, now. "Apples... Apples?"

She couldn't help but scowl again. Oh, she heard him alright. Her lips curved into a grin, "Oh _Castle_..." Using her feet to push her department chair towards Castle, just close enough for her to lean in, face to face. Not a word out of her mouth on the way over. Placing a hand on his stubble cheek, caressing it for a moment with her thumb before trailing her fingers off to his earlobe. Gently rubbing the earlobe.

Castle was stunned and silenced. Beckett was so close to his face. _Cherries... Cherries all over. You__smell so goddamn good, Beckett. Come on, Richard. Do __something__. She's__giving you__an opportunity!_

Then comes jerking his earlobe hard, causing Castle to shriek a little. She eased the pressure on his earlobe and brought her lips close by. Her eyes wandered around to the left side of the room, making sure nobody was watching her. Esposito and Ryan were on the right side of the room, trying to sneak a peek to see what she was doing to his ear. Luckily for Beckett, his side profile was in the way. Beckett's fingers were released from his earlobe and replaced it with her hot breathing, with a soft moan. "The only thing you're going to kiss is my gun, Castle."

He groaned. _Come on, Kate. Why you__do this to me?_

Beckett retreated herself away from Castle, trying to hide her grin, and pushing herself back towards the desk. Just in time, her phone chimed. She reached over to pick it up and held it to her ear, "Beckett."

Castle watched her scurry away in her damn pride, letting out a deep exhale as he needed to take his eyes off Beckett for the time being. Catching Esposito and Ryan staring. They were smirking their asses off, Ryan was giving Castle a nod. _Of course, the damn bet's still going around._

"We got two bodies." Beckett rose from her seat, "Guys, let's go." She glanced over to the boys as she quickly threw her leather jacket over her shoulders.

* * *

><p>Two black Crown Victoria Fords pulled up to the curb in front of a tall apartment building. Esposito and Ryan were following Beckett the whole trip over. Castle and Beckett sat in silence, neither of them had anything to say... For now.<p>

Ryan and Esposito slipped out after arriving, they were the first to lead inside.

"I've got a funny feeling about this one." Castle spoke just before Beckett managed to leave the car. She had the door opened wide and a foot out. She twisted her torso to Castle's direction, "Since when murder's a good thing?"

Castle opened his passenger door, letting himself out. "We rarely get two bodies at once... I do hope it's the whole robbery gone wrong this time."

Beckett was out of the car after Castle finished his sentence, slamming the door lightly. "Come on, Ricky-boy. Don't you want the weird cases?" She had to put on a small grin, hoping it would spice up the atmosphere.

He shrugged his shoulders, "We've had enough of those. Remember the cryogenics case? Red riding hood? Hell... The ghost was a nice touch." He wiggled his eyebrows, remembering the exact moment he may have accidentally slipped his hand to her crotch when she asked him to push her up towards the hatch on the ceiling.

"And here I was thinking your favourite case would have been the aliens." She rolled her eyes.

He just had to smirk. "Is it because we had matching hickeys?"

Beckett couldn't help but laugh, shook her head as they walked side by side into the building. "They weren't hickeys, Castle."

"I wish they were."

"Of course... What of the tiger then? Wasn't that one g-g-g-great?" She mimicked Ryan's comment back then after they were rescued. You got to admit it, it was a fun humour.

"I'm not sure about that one, Detective Beckett. It almost ate my beautiful, beautiful face. The handcuffs were a nice touch though." She laughed at his remark.

* * *

><p>Eventually they both arrived at the scene of crime, into a decent-sized loft belonged to a married couple. Castle and Beckett had to watch their steps. The husband was shot close-ranged into the forehead right at the door, and the wife was found on the floor nearby. She spilled more blood than the husband did. Lanie was inspecting the wife as the crime scene unit worked around her.<p>

"Talk to me, Lanie." Beckett spoke, keeping her distance from the pool of blood. Castle couldn't help himself but stare at the body and sniffed at the reek of smell in the room. His eyes wandering all around the room. _Why does it smell like sex in here? _He thought.

Beckett catches him sniffing, and raising her eyebrow. Just what the hell is he doing? Lanie distracted her back into cop-mode. Her gaze meeting Lanie's.

"Meet Alicia Rose and Robert Adagio. She's in her late twenties and the husband in his early 30s." Lanie resumed jotting her notes down onto her clipboard, "From the looks of it, she was finished off last." Laine squatted down next to the body, the clipboard resting on top of her thighs. Reaching over with her latex covered hands. Carefully lifting the body to roll her over a bit, "She was trying to flee from the killer but only to be shot in the back, turned over to get a good look on the killer's face before he shot her in the chest to finish her off."

"Robbery?" Beckett asked, taking a fresh look around. A lot of these times, it was never a robbery, but you can never know.

"Nope, nothing was stolen. The killer definitely knew the victims. As for the husband, he was shot close-ranged as soon as he opened the door. Poor guy didn't have the time to do anything." Lanie spoke.

"Time of death?"

"Judging by the decomposition of the body, somewhere between the hours of 9 to 11 PM last night."

"Thanks Lanie." She shot a glance over to Castle. Castle was sniffing around like a dog, he was certainly up to something. "Castle, you okay?"

"Why does it smell like sex in here?" Castle spoke.

"Seriously, Castle? You can smell that with a dead body nearby? Lanie, any chance the killer might have gotten himself off over the bodies?" It was a silly accusation, but she had to be safe, after all, it's her career here.

"There isn't any body fluids around here. Although, I wouldn't be surprised if you find some in bed. Nothing like releasing a quick one before bed." Lanie hummed to herself quietly.

Beckett pouted her lips into a tiny grin, "Right. Have the forensic check out the bed and match the fluids."

Castle gasped. "Do you think they might have had sex with the killer, only when he was done and realized he might have been at risk... Comes back and tie up the loose end?"

And there's his absurd theory. Beckett rolled her eyes, "Great. Now let's take a moment and hope that the killer was stupid enough to leave his sperm behind."

"D-did she just say sperm?" Castle asked Lanie. He had never heard her say the word before.

"Not touching that one, writer-boy." Lanie resumed to her clipboard.

Beckett scoffed, "Real mature, Castle." Leaving Lanie alone. Castle followed Beckett out of the crime scene, Ryan and Esposito were outside in the hallway, questioning the neighbours and the landlord. "Esposito, what do you have?"

Ryan looked to Javi and nodded his head towards Beckett, gesturing him to talk to her and resume talking to the witnesses.

"Yo, nothing so far." Esposito spoke as he stepped away from his partner. "Got two witnesses here who found the bodies. She was pretty horrified. Nobody heard a gunshot of some sort, the killer may have used a silencer." He gave his notes a quick look over, "Witness here says she usually go for a run in the mornings with the wife, she knocked, and there wasn't any answer except for the reek of smell she noticed. Called the landlord and they found the bodies."

"Right. Any cameras in this building?" Beckett asked.

The landlord stepped in to interrupt the two, "Sorry, I don't mean to pry but no, we don't have any camera except for the dummy one in the lobby. These things are expensive."

Esposito jerked his head over to the landlord once, "This is Adam Hill, he's the landlord." He held his pen towards Beckett and Castle, "Detective Beckett and her partner, Castle."

Adam didn't care much for the introduction, but it was a need to know basis in case something comes up and needs to call her up. "I can't believe they're gone..." Adam frowned slightly.

"Were you close to the two of them?" She asked.

"Oh, god, yeah I guess you could say that in a way. They were newlyweds when they first moved in here and have been living here for the past... Uhhh, 7 or 8 years? They were tight as a knot and very friendly." The landlord answered, hand itching in his hair. "I don't know who would want to kill them. They weren't rich either."

"Would you happen to know that maybe, they had some sort of a problem with family? Neighbour? Any unusual run ins?"

He shook is head slowly but stopped for a moment, "...Actually, they did have a visitor last night. A woman. She didn't saw who she was, but she mentioned she was a friend of the couple. She met them at some kind of a marriage counselling retreat. Said she was one of the staffs."

Castle spoke up, "That's unusual. Usually, staffs aren't allowed to be interfering with couples outside of the retreat. It's strictly against the policy."

Beckett shot a glance over to Castle, raised an eyebrow.

He caught Beckett's stare, "Oh... Uh, Gina and I went to a retreat one time. Didn't work out too well." Clearing his throat, "Anyway. Do you know the name of the place they went?"

Adam shook his head, "Sorry... Hell, I never knew they went. Guess they put on a hell of a show to hide their problems."

"Esposito, run their finances. See if the name pops out."

"Got it." Esposito spoke, jotting down in his little notepad to remind himself. Turning away from the group.

Beckett shifted her gaze back to Adam, "Would you be able to remember her face and work with a sketch artist?"

"Erm... I can try." He looked worried, not giving her a reason not to try.

"Okay, thanks Adam. Esposito will take you back to the station, and there you'll work with an artist. Excuse me," Beckett walked over to Ryan and the witness, leaving Castle alone with the landlord for a quick chat. She knew Castle would do a bit of a detective work, asking some questions, and he would fill her in later. Worth the effort. "Ryan." She greeted him.

"Hey Becks," Ryan looked over to the female, she was in tears. "This is Marcy, Alicia's good friend and neighbour."

"Marcy. I'm sorry for your loss."

Marcy let out a short sob, "I-I'm sorry, detective. I'm a mess. I knew Alicia for so long, I wasn't expecting this at all."

"I understand. The two of you were close?"

"Yes..." Marcy nodded, "Whenever Rob wasn't around, she would invite me over and we would have a glass of wine. Share our days and gossip. Sounds a little cliche, I know, but we were close. I look forward to seeing her every time I would come home from work. Things would get too stressful, and she always helped me take the edge off. Why would someone want to kill her? She's a sweet woman."

Beckett hated the stories. It was part of her job to deal with them, but curiosity always got to her when it comes to solving murders. The question pops up in her head every time a new case comes up, why? Why did they kill them? What was the motive? Most of these stories turned out to be compelling or just a regular ol' classic motive in the book. She could feel their pain in a way. Her mom was killed, and she never got to find out. The worst part of all in this job, she was able to give people the closure they needed to hear, and she never got hers. "Marcy, I understand but you must know that I do need to ask for your alibi. Where were you last night between 9 and 11 AM?"

"How could you ask me that? I would never, ever harm my best friend. I can't even watch horror movies and not feel sick." Marcy exclaimed, "God, I was in my apartment last night, watching TV."

Beckett saw it coming. No matter what, even politely asking, it was a normal reaction. People would always feel offended in a way. "And you didn't hear anything next door? Anything unusual?"

Marcy wrapped her slender arms around her upper torso, rubbing her bicep softly. "Aside from the moaning next door? That wasn't news to me. I got used to it... except..." She squinted her eyes, "I did hear a different tone of voice. Like, a third person. A woman...? I'm fairly certain I never heard her before."

Beckett's forehead wrinkled as she rose her eyebrows, "Threesome? They were having a threesome?" _Oh, Castle would love to hear this. This is undoubtedly his type of a case._

Marcy shook her head, "That's just silly. They're married for gods sake."

"Marcy, every couple is different. Some do have an open relationship. You'd be surprised."

"But Alicia never told me about having an open relationship. She wasn't into that kind of stuff. We had a couple of a dirty talk but never once, ever mentioned anything about having an open relationship. That's not likely of her."

"Do you know if they went to a marriage counselling retreat? The landlord mentioned the woman he saw last night came in here, said she was a staff."

"No..." Shaking her head, hand gripping on her bicep tightly. "Marriage troubles...? But they were fine when I saw them. They went on a vacation last week, they were heading to Mexico for a week. A romantic getaway, she said."

Kate nodded her head once, "Thank you for your time. Call me if anything pops up." She said as she handed Marcy her card, "Ask for Detective Beckett." She left Marcy alone with Ryan to finish up a bit more. She walked over to Castle, the landlord had just left him alone by the time Beckett was finished. "Let's head back to the precinct, Castle. Ryan and Esposito will take over from here."

* * *

><p>On the way back in the crown vic, Beckett driving as usual with Castle in the passenger seat. It was time to share any new information they collected from the landlord and the neighbour. "Anything useful from the landlord, Castle?"<p>

"Not much from the guy. He mentioned the woman was a blonde, in her 30s and gorgeous looking. She flirted with him to have her way inside the apartment. Said she was a real piece of work... Of course, the landlord gave in. Poor guy, single and a hot woman comes out of nowhere, hitting on him. He must have felt like heaven."

"Castle." She scoffed, "So, did he say anything of her outfit? Slutty? Prostitute clothing?"

Castle turned his head to look at Beckett, a small grin, "Why Beckett, you interested?"

"No, Castle!" _The only thing I'm interested is you... Whether it's__paid or free. Oh god, Beckett.__You're__going way off topic here. Get your shit together._"The neighbour, Marcy, she heard a third suspect in the bedroom next door... along with sexual moans. It might have been a threesome encounter."

His eyes widened, "...Threesome? Why you tell me now? I could have asked Marcy a couple of questions of that! I mean, in a professional way. I happen to know a great deal of experiences..." He saw Beckett's signature eyebrow raised up, "...I mean, I had my fair share of... uh. Hearing things next door when I'm in a hotel on a book signing tour. You know. It's easy to sort out the voices."

"Uh-huh." Beckett nodded, "Back to the topic, Castle. She said it's unlikely of the couple to be having a threesome encounter. They shared a few nights of dirty talking, sharing the intimacy details of their sex life and never once mentioned anything of a threesome of some sort. I'm thinking it's connected to the marriage counselling retreat... Somehow."

"The landlord did say she was a staff. That's our connection."

"But people lie."

"I don't know, Beckett. This is all fishy to me. Did Marcy know anything of the retreat?"

"Nope. So far, nobody knew they even went. Marcy said they were on a vacation for a week in Mexico. I'm guessing Alicia lied about their stay. We won't know for sure until we get back to the precinct."

Back at the precinct, Beckett's eyes glued to the computer screen, researching for marriage counselling retreats in the area. The place has got to be close by, otherwise how else would a staff travel from afar to meet the victims outside of the retreat. A few came up in the search results, nothing out of ordinary.

Castle came around to her desk with a mug, setting it down for her. He had always been the typical coffee go-to guy for Beckett. It was his minor way of showing how much he appreciates her... and well, of course. His love for her.

Beckett thanked him in a mumble, eyes still focused. "Castle, when you went to the retreat, were you in the city?"

"No, we went to the one close to the Hampton's. It's better to be someplace nice and relaxing rather than having to deal with all the city surroundings. I don't understand why they would even have retreats around here."

"I'm thinking it's the budget, Castle. Most couples wouldn't be able to afford some good help. Unlike you, Mr. Millionaire, got one of the best help you could get and your marriage didn't work out?" She put on a small smirk.

"Ouch, Detective. That hurt." He sneered his eyes, "That was long before I found out she cheated on me. Why are you so interested in my failed marriage all of sudden?"

"Sorry Castle. I didn't mean it. Some relationships just didn't work out." She shifted her gaze to meet with his, letting him know that she did mean it when she apologized.

"Don't worry about it. I'm over it." He smiled, "Now that everybody's back here." He looked over to Ryan and Esposito who just came in through the elevators and settling in on their computers, getting to work. "Should I grab some lunch for everyone?"

"That would be great." Beckett looked to the two detectives, "Hey boys, Castle's buying lunch. You want some?"

"Hell yeah, bro." Esposito spoke as he turned in his chair and leaning back.

Ryan turned to Castle as well, "Thanks Castle, I'm starving."

About 30 minutes later or so, Castle walked through the bullpen from the elevators, some white plastic bags in his hands. He had gotten Chinese takeouts, called ahead to have the grub prepared as soon as he picked them up. After all, everyone's hungry. He noticed people weren't in their usual seats but one quick glance over to the large rectangular window with blinds in the way, they were in the meeting room. Several paperwork lying around on the table. Castle walked through the door and set the bags onto the corner of the table, carefully taking the containers out.

Everyone thanked him as they scurry over to grab a container, opening them up and grabbing whatever they liked to see. Soon they were back in their seats, eating. Castle joined them, sitting close to Beckett. "What do we got so far?" He asked.

Esposito decides to be the one to fill him in, "The third suspect wasn't lying about the retreat. There's one just a little outside of New York. Called the Loving at your Best retreat. We checked the financial records, there's a payment of approximately 1.2 grand for the hotel stay and about $500 for the sessions."

"How many sessions did they provide?" Castle asked, he was interested. Beckett rose her eyebrows at him, wondering why the hell he was asking that.

"...Uh," Esposito flipped through a page or two, "Six sessions here. Sex therapy sessions, to be more specific."

"Sex therapy?" Both Castle and Beckett said in unison and caught each others gaze then

Ryan watched the two and secretly grinned. _Look at how cute these guys are. They don't__even know it... Maybe Jenny and I could make them go out on a double date with us. That just might work, and I'll win the bet for once._

Then they looked away in silence, back to Esposito who was grinning like an idiot. "Anyway," He licked his lips, "They spent a week there. We'll need to go there for questioning."

"Castle and I can take care of that." Beckett wasn't sure whether Esposito or Ryan would crack a joke of some sort at this one, but neither of them spoke when she scowled her face at the two. They were still afraid of their own boss.

"Road trip... yes!" Castle pumped his fist on his side.

After a few minutes looking into paperwork, Beckett decided to wait for Lanie to come up with something before they would go on a trip since the drive would be about an hour away. Her phone chimed, it was about time Lanie found something. She rose from her seat, "Lanie's got something." Just when Castle was about to get up, she placed a hand on his shoulder and shoved him back into his own seat. "Stay put and eat." Soon leaving the room.

"Man, you're whipped." Esposito spoke to Castle across from the table, taking the chow mien into his mouth, "You're like a dog. Drooling all over Beckett."

Ryan continues to eat, but talks with his mouth full anyway, "I'm beginning to wonder if that playboy image of yours was a lie."

"Yeah bro, I used to look up to you, but you suck as a role model."

"Seriously?" Castle said in a low tone, he was agitated by the two. "Seriously? That woman scares me sometimes..." Mumbling to himself, "...working on it."

* * *

><p>Beckett walked through the large metal sliding doors, entering the morgue. "Hey Lanie, what you got?" She asked as Lanie turned to face Beckett.<p>

"Hey girl. These bodies are clean, aside from the gunshot wounds. The killer didn't leave a single trace of evidence behind... Remember when you asked the forensics to check the bed? Turns out there were traces of body fluids. They matched the two victims here, but there were also some that didn't match. Meaning there's a third suspect."

"They had a threesome then. Great. Even the landlord's sketch artist wasn't much of a help. Turns out he was drinking and didn't remember clearly on what she looked like. The only connection we have is the marriage counselling retreat." She took a quick sigh before carrying on the discussion. "Castle and I are going over there and check it out. See if we can find out which one of the staff had an encounter with the victims. Thanks Lanie." Beckett turned to walk out, but Lanie called out her name, stopping dead in her tracks to look at her.

"You... said marriage counselling retreat? Girl... are you sure you want to step into that territory?" Lanie asked, clipboard resting in her hands.

Beckett wasn't sure where she was going with this one. "What are you talking about?"

Then Lanie laughed a bit, "Beckett. You two act like a couple. Aren't you worried that someone would recognize the two of you and ask all sorts of questions? After all... You are Nikki Heat with the famous Richard Castle. It's not a secret around here."

"Oh come on, Lanie. That's ridiculous. Everybody knows that there's nothing going on between the two of us. You know that. Nobody's going to ask us anything, not when I'm flashing my badge around." She smirked. Although, thanks to Lanie. It did cross her mind that some people MIGHT see something between the two of them. She would play with the idea for fun, see who would say what and how Castle responds to them. Finally, leaving Lanie alone.

Lanie hummed to herself and whispers, "Ricky, I hope you're stupid enough to do something for good this time."


	2. Chapter 2

**Sex Therapy, oh my!**

**A/N: Can I just say... holy shit? Haha, all day my cell was vibrating like hell. Just wanted to say a million thanks to everyone. Whether it's review or alert. Either way, it's nice to know people like it. I hope I can keep you guys on a good leash here as I update. :)**

**Feel free to ask questions, criticize, or anything at all.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Castle and unlike most people, I wouldn't want to. The writers are doing a fabulous job on the storyline, and their relationship build-up. Wouldn't have it done any other way... except for the naughty stuff, hint, hint.**

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><p>Beckett came back to the bullpen after a little talk with Lanie. The information she received was not what she wanted to hear, but it was enough for now. There's definitely a third suspect, and she is going to have to find out who she is. She believes that the third suspect will have all the answers.<p>

The meeting room was cleaned up by the time she got back, noticing a few containers on her own desk with Castle in her damn chair. She came up close behind him, thinking of a way to irritate him, but it would not be professional of her to do so. Instead, she yelled out his name.

Castle got up in a heartbeat. Esposito was right. He was whipped. The two detectives watched them for a moment and resumed to work with a huge grin on their faces. Castle scooted over for Beckett to sink down in her own seat, taking the container and picking up where she left off. Taking one bite at a time. She was hungry, knowing that she should be running down a lead, but first, she just needed to fill her stomach.

"Castle... I thought I told you not to play with my computer." Her eyes caught a bunch of websites opened up on her computer, a handful of knowledge of the specific retreat, including sex therapy. _What the hell is he doing with this?_

He took his seat next to the desk before she noticed the websites. He did not have the time to close when she came over, in fact, he was caught red-handed. The least he could do was to sit and be cool about it. "I was doing some researching... Just in case?" He grabbed the edge of his seat and scooted over close to Beckett, pointing out to some parts on the site. "Look at this, says here that couples are not allowed to leave the retreat until their sessions are completed thoroughly. So maybe our third suspect is a staff after all, since she would be able to leave the premises and go home. Paid the couple a surprise visit for a threesome? Maybe they had an encounter there."

Beckett's eyes laid onto the computer, reading bits and pieces here and there. Settled the container down onto the desk, scoffing, "Castle, that is a bit far fetched, don't you think? Even if she's involved... Then why would someone kill the couple? They might have done nothing wrong."

"Jealous husband?" He asked as he turned his head, he was close to her face but at a reasonable distance. Quickly taking a whiff of her cherry-scented hair. _Been so long since I came close to her hair. Fantastic fragrance... Beckett's right. You're so metro-sexual!_

"How would he even know what they were doing at the retreat? What if..." She turned her head to face him, not realizing how close he was. She was taken back at the ruggedly handsome look, staring deep into his blue eyes. _Damn._ It took her a few seconds to snap back to reality, stuttering slightly, "W-what if... her boyfriend works there? A Secret lover?"

Oh yeah. He caught that stutter and made a mental note of it. His eyes shifted down to her lips. She was nibbling on her bottom lip. _I love it when she does that._ "...That could work."He whispered softly, eyes not leaving her lips.

"Castle..." Beckett almost moaned his name out. _What am I doing? Why am I even whispering his name out like that? _Then comes the scene of their passionate make-out period as a decoy replaying in her head, again. The air got thicker between the two. Her chest slowly heaving at an erratic pace, she was panting remarkably quiet. _If only I could just... taste those lips again... Just once more._

Castle could not believe what was happening. He watched every move she made, her chest heaving like that, her panting... god, her lips most of all. She licked them wet enough in preparation for a kiss they were about to achieve.

Gates strutted out of her office with a handful of folders in arm, staring at the two closing their space in a painfully slow motion. Being the bitch as usual, Gates didn't want people to be looking at the two and think it's okay to make out in public. It would make her look _bad_. "Beckett." She spoke loud and clear, disturbing their moment. They both jumped back, shooting their glances at Gates. "My office, now." She retreated herself back to her own office.

Beckett let out a chortled laugh, she was just as surprised as Castle was, matching his expression. She took a deep sigh and stood. "Fuck." She mumbled to herself. _What was I even thinking? Fucking professional, Kate. Just perfect._ She left Castle alone without a word and to the boss' office for a delicate spanking.

Castle watched her leave, groaning to himself and leaning back into his chair. He rubbed his forehead with his thumb. He always hated Gates and her dreadful timing. No, screw that, Ryan and Esposito were clearly the masters of cockblocking in the past few years. Though what happened just now, they couldn't help themselves. He wanted her.

She wanted him.

It was clear to him that he needed to do something stupid.

* * *

><p>"Close the door." Gates commanded.<p>

Beckett did what she asked her to do then stood in front of her desk. Her hands closed behind her back, fingers fidgeting around with her own. "You wanted to see me, sir?" She asked politely.

"Where are we on the case?" She asked Beckett. Eyes not leaving the paperwork she had laid out on her desk, shuffling through them and pretending to read.

"We discovered that there was a third suspect at the victims' home. We are not sure who she is, but we found the connection between the victims and the third suspect. We believe they were acquainted to one of the staffs at a marriage counselling retreat. Castle and I will be heading down there for questioning."

"Fine work, detective. Keep me posted." Gates held her gaze on her own paperwork.

"Thank you, sir." Beckett spoke, turning to leave her office but Gates called out to Beckett.

"One more thing..." Victoria Gates, the "Iron" Gates of the 12th precinct, gave Beckett a long, cold stare. It seemed that Beckett might have been the only person around to be able to withstand her. Most people would find her intimidating and downright scary. Worrying their badges would be stripped away at an unreasonable act. "Castle." Gates switched her glance over to Castle through the window, watching him fiddling with his iPhone instead of doing some actual work.

"What of him, sir?" _Of course. Gates hates the guy. Clearly it was obvious from the start._

"I'm beginning to think he's a distraction. Don't get me wrong, Detective Beckett. He proved to be a valuable asset to the team but right now..." She raised a finger then pointed to Castle. "That little moment I walked in on you two? That can not happen again in my precinct." Settling her hand down onto the desk. "I support relationships but only outside of work. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes sir."

"If I ever catch the two of you pecking on your valuable time, I'm kicking Castle out."

Beckett took a deep sigh, "Sir, we're not dating."

"Beckett." Gates didn't give a shit what she had to say. She obviously knew something was going on the between of the two them. Even though they may not have been dating, but they sure as hell looked like a couple.

"Won't happen again, sir." Beckett held her head down as a slight nod, turning herself away to face the door, and letting herself out of the office. _Well shit, there goes my fantasies._

Kate was out of the office and back to the desk. Swiftly checking her father's watch for the time. Not too bad, she thought. Just a little past 1 PM. Avoiding Castle's looks this time, she did not want to get herself lost in those blue eyes again. Gates threat was dead serious. Aside from not dating him, she couldn't bear with the idea of not having Castle around at the precinct again. She slipped on the jacket and instantly adjusting the frontal. "Castle, you coming?"

"Always." He spoke, not being able to catch her gaze but decided that he would ask later. A trip to Gates' office usually never end well. Only to ask once they were out of Gates' hair, that is. He rose from the chair and followed her to the elevator after Beckett told the guys where they were going.

After all, it was Gates' new policy. Nobody is to go anywhere without letting people know.

* * *

><p>On the way over, they shared a brief conversation moment. "What did Gates wanted?" He had to ask.<p>

"Just a quick update on the case."

"Nothing else? It seemed like she was pissed."

"Castle," she sighed, "she's always been like that. She asked for the update on the case, I told her we would be going to the retreat for questioning, and hopefully come back with new leads."

She was definitely hiding something. But he won't push it. Castle silently nod his head to her, leaving it alone. The ride got quiet along the way. All Beckett could do was to think about what Gates said. Her own boss thought they were a couple. Were they really that obvious?

* * *

><p>At the retreat, it was unusual for Castle. He remembered the retreats always took somewhere engaging with all the environment surrounding the area. To bring couples a sense of peace and relaxation. It was nothing like he thought it was going to be. <em>Damn, the photographs on the websites lied to me.<em> Castle took a deep sigh, taking a strong look at the building. This whole site only had two stories but a gigantic backyard with several different divided sections. Divided for group sessions and activities. _Not all that dreadful, actually._

Beckett walked into the lobby with Castle by her side, glancing about for the receptionist desk. Several couples passing by, few were holding hands, but most were trying hard to avoid each other. Geez, some place. "So, Castle. Would you ever take advantage of this place?"

"Me? No, Beckett. You know me. I'm Mr. Millionaire who goes to the expensive ones and fail my marriages." Castle frowned.

She couldn't help but to slap him on the arm lightly. "Castle, you know I was kidding about before. Don't be harsh on yourself. I'm sure you tried your best..."

Castle's frown was beginning to turn into a smile until then...

Beckett's grin came up, "with your money." Walking away proud from Castle, over to the receptionist desk.

His smile disappeared immediately. "Now I'm sure you didn't mean that!" He hurriedly caught up next to her, "Besides, how would you even know for sure if you never gave us a chance."

She came to an immediate stop in her tracks when he mentioned 'us'. Looking up to Castle with a dangerous game face on, "Let's go, Castle. We're working... Now's not the time." She needed to avoid that for now, obviously not ready for that type of talk. Besides, they truly are working on precious time here. Beckett finished her trip over to the desk.

Castle was not used to being turned down by women until he met Beckett. She made it difficult for him to chase her around. It was a real pain in the ass, but he managed to grab a few intimate moments. It was enough for him back then. Now he wanted more. Although he's pretty sure that if he ever finds out she doesn't love him, he would stop following her like a sick love puppy. Not that he honestly wants to, ever. He would be willing to wait a long time for her but just how much more longer can it get? It has been years. For now, he sighed in frustration and caught up with her again until something stupid came across his mind. When Beckett greeted to the woman at the desk, he stepped in. Her hand grasping onto the badge, Castle quickly stopping her hand.

"Alexander Rodgers, hi." He spoke loud and clear. "This is my wife, Katherine Rodgers."

Beckett's jaw dropped wide open, staring at Castle's side profile. He was refusing to look at her but with a gigantic smile on his face. "_Just what in the hell are you doing?" _She whispered dangerously quiet to his ear. Katherine Rodgers? It has got a neat touch to it. _Hell no, hell no. Nu huh. Forget it, Castle._ Her hand reached his hand, shoving it away to grab a hold onto her badge, ready to flash. She needed to get out of this silly little mess.

Castle saw her sudden change, he quickly looked over and grabbed a hold of her hand. "Honey, you promised you wouldn't run from this. We talked about this, remember?" He chuckled, eyeing the woman at the desk. "You know how it is, couples get nervous, but I'm willing to work hard for us. I'd like to book a week-"

Beckett grabbed Castle by the jacket in her fists and tugged him hard towards her. Her face was so close to his, he could almost hear her growling. Not being able to speak in front of the woman for some strange reason. She could easily slip out and say, Detective Beckett, NYPD. I'd like to speak to the manager.

Instead, she freed a hand and walked out through the lobby with his jacket in her fist. Castle was being dragged out, eyeing the receptionist with a stupid laugh. "I'll be back!"

Soon they were outside of the building, she turned to face him and rested her hands on her hips. "Just what the hell are you thinking? Portraying us as a married couple is not going to do anything."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Castle held up his hands. "Beckett... _Kate._" He spoke, trying to calm her down from his ridiculous move. Pretty bold move, he will have to commend himself later for having the courage to come out like that.

"No, you don't get to say my name like that." Beckett snapped. Not giving him a chance to talk.

"Beckett." He lowered his hands, his voice was low. "What if we're wrong about the staff? The third suspect... I mean, why would she want to come over and portray herself as a staff to the landlord where you can easily find her here... then soon wind up as a suspect? What if she is one of the couples to sneak out? Think about it. You can just easily jump into the car, drive to their apartment and then come back." Castle pointed out to the parking lot with fences surrounding them. "In my experience, they take your car away to a garage. That is an open invitation to get out for a brief moment."

"You said they won't be allowed to leave. Wouldn't their keys get taken away?"

He shrugged his broad shoulders, "Maybe not. But I'm pretty sure nobody would really give a shit if you slip out. Hell, slip a guard a 100 and he would be happy to let you go. As long as you come back in one piece. Nobody would even have to know." Castle licked his lips. "Think about it. It is possible. If I were to write the book, that's how I would hide my killer. It's a perfect alibi too."

Beckett groaned. Running her hands through her hair. "Castle. That is a great theory, really. But how the hell are we going to do that if we're inside? Make friends with the couple and say, oh. Do you know the Adagios? They were murdered.. By any chance, do you know who might have killed them?"

"Yes."

"No!" She responded in anger. "You can't just." Again, she groaned. "Castle. This is my job, I have to do it so if you'll please, step aside and let me do my job." She walked towards the lobby door, but Castle quickly wrapped his arm around her waist and forcefully pulled her back to where she was.

"Castle."

"Beckett."

"Castle..."

"Afraid you might like it?"

"Like what?"

"This. Being undercover as a married couple." He grinned. "You told me yourself, you specifically said you have a hard job and me being around makes it a little more fun. So, why can't we just have this type of fun for now? I'll pay for everything. All you need to do is speak to the captain and have her approve of the mission."

Beckett scoffed. "Gates is never going to go for that."

"Then use your vacation days. Keep in touch with the detectives like we did in L.A. What's the harm in doing that? Last time I checked, you have on way too many vacation days to use up." _Wait. Go back, Richard. She didn't even bother to disagree with me, and she's concerned about Gates? Oh hell, Rick. You're going to suffocate._

"Let's go back. But I'm putting the blame on you if we don't catch somebody. There will be hell to pay, Castle. Mark my words." She turned to head back over to the car, leaving Castle standing for a moment to gather his thoughts together. He was too busy thinking of the idea that Beckett was actually considering doing this covert mission with him. If only Gates would approve... If only.

* * *

><p>"No." Gates was harsh.<p>

"No?" Beckett said. "Okay then, Castle. Let's go back and question the staffs then."

Castle groaned, "Oh come on, ladies. Just wait a minute." He caught Gates' stare. It was cold. Pretty fucking cold, the way he mentioned the word ladies'. "Sorry, I mean to say sir, sir." He cleared his throat. "I'd be paying for everything. If anything goes wrong, you can blame me, and you can kick me out. But when you really think about it, you'd be wasting your time talking to the staffs in front of the couples. Someone might just overhear us and secretly slip out."

"Then that's how we'll catch them."

He shook his head a little, "No, sir. A lot of couples spend the weekend there.. Some would spend a few days, a week or two."

"Your point being?" Gates leaned back onto her desk with her arms crossed.

"Our victims were just murdered yesterday. Meaning the killer would have had time to come back to the retreat to resume the counselling. If we could subpoena the list of the people spending the time there, we would be able crosscheck with our victims, see who might have been involved with the victims during the time spent there. And if anybody checked out on the day they left, Ryan and Esposito can interview these guys. It's a win-win situation either way."

"You're forgetting the staffs. They have the full privilege of leaving the premises, any one of them could have gone out and murdered them." Gates spoke, wining the argument. Beckett stood there, hands behind her back and fidgeting again like before. She watched the two, fascinated by the fact that Richard Castle actually stood up to Gates, fighting for this one. _Maybe he just wants to go undercover to be with me badly. Take advantage of me. Wouldn't that be hot...? No._ She secretly shook her head out of the gutter. _Focus, Kate. FOCUS. Why am I so in love with this goddamn child?_

_Shit. She's right. _Castle thought to herself. It could have been the staff. Even in his book, he would have made one of the couples as the killer but the staff... It's too random. "The woman- the third suspect who arrived to the victim's loft. She claimed she was staff. Why would she put herself in trouble where we could just simply lead her back to the retreat?"

Gates sighed in frustration, "Mr. Castle, she could have a husband or a boyfriend who went into a jealous rage. He probably stalked her for all we know. This is a waste of time. A no is a no."

Beckett stepped in, doing Castle a favour. "I'd like to use my vacation days, sir. If you don't mind." She pouted her lips, rocking her body slightly and raising her eyebrows. Waiting for Gates to respond. All Gates could do was to stare at her. Now in this argument, Gates was going to lose.

Castle watched the two. The corner of his lips curved into a smirk.

"Wipe that damn smirk off your face, Castle." Gates didn't have to look. Castle played his poker face.

* * *

><p>Castle called the retreat ahead to book themselves for a one week stay, including the sex therapy sessions. Who knows, perhaps the therapist could be the killer... Right? Wouldn't hurt to be more involved. Beckett has no idea what he was up to. All work, she thought. But Castle was all play... okay, part work.<p>

Later the day, Beckett and Castle were back at their own places. Packing for the week. Roaming through a stack of clothing and undergarments, all lying around on her bed, deciding which one to take until she was interrupted by the knock on her door. _That better not be Castle._

She opens the door.

_Definitely not Castle._

"How come you didn't tell me you were going to spend the week with writer-boy?" Lanie spoke as she pushed herself through the door, Beckett stepped aside. She knew this was coming. Oh hell, she knew Lanie would have found out about it sooner than later. Sometimes she wished she wasn't so damn close to Esposito. "Please, come in." Beckett mumbled.

"Spill." Lanie sat down on her couch, "Wine please."

"Lanie, I've got work tomorrow. I can't deal with Castle and a headache."

"Wine... Please." Lanie grinned.

Beckett rolled her eyes. Course, you can't have girl talk without wine. She walked to the kitchen to find her small collection of warm wine near the fridge. She wasn't big on drinking but sometimes keeps a bottle or two. "Castle surprised me at the receptionist desk." Beginning the storytelling as she grabs the corkscrew and glasses.

"He -..." Beckett cleared her throat, walking back to Lanie and taking her seat next to her. Lanie took a hold of her bottle, and corkscrew, figures she would do the work while she talks. "He named himself 'Alexanders Rodgers' and said," her hand gesturing over to Lanie to portray herself as Castle, "this is my wife, Katherine Rodgers."

Lanie sputters with a huge grin, "What? Oh, god. I would KILL to see the expression on your face!"

She couldn't help but grimace at Lanie, a small smile appearing on her face. "Needless to say, I was stunned. I didn't know whether to be angry or-"

"Happy?"

"No, Lanie. Come on. I never dated the guy. Why would I get all giggly when he refers me to his wife? I took him outside to have a word with him. He explained how the case would be tricky. We would be going after the wrong people if we question the staffs... couples would be coming and going constantly. Nobody would know who might be affiliated with the victims. It's just undercover work, who cares. Maybe we'll have fun."

Lanie's grin grew wider.

As her grin appear wider, Beckett's eyes went wider with her eyebrows furrowed. "Not that kind of fun! Lanie!"

"Live a little, girl. Live a little. Who knows, you could be happy." Lanie entirely forgot the wine bottle in her hand until Beckett grabbed it to finish the job. Pouring themselves a cup. "Thanks." She took a sip.

Beckett did the same. "I've got to finish packing. Help?"

"Sure... Do I get to decide which lingerie you'll be wearing?"

"Lanie."

"Okay, fine. Just the dresses then."

"Lanie."

"Shit, girl." Lanie took a large sip of her wine. "You need to loosen up... and only writer-boy can do that in bed."

Beckett scoffed. "Come on, help me."

Lanie pushed herself up from the couch. "Girl, I'll have you know that if nothing happens, I'm locking the two of you in a room until you get this shit sorted out."

"Do that to me and I'll make sure you get your own room with Javi." Beckett spoke, looking over her shoulder to Lanie with a wry face.

**A/N: I have the next chapter written but I don't want to update everything quickly. I like to take the time to reread my chapters and make sure I don't leave out anything important. Stick around, I'm having way too much fun with this one.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Sex Therapy**

**A/N: Thanks again for the alerts+reviews, keep 'em coming! If you'd like to make a few suggestions, toss 'em my way.**

**I meant to update yesterday, but I decided to prolong this one out, enjoy. ;)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Castle.**

* * *

><p>"Dad... Say that again." Alexis was anxious when Castle told her he would be spending the week with Beckett alone, at a marriage counselling retreat.<p>

"I'm going to a marriage counselling retreat with Detective Beckett." Castle replied, folding a pile of clothing into the luggage next to Alexis on the bed. She was sitting next to it, watching him in action with an alarming expression.

"You do know that the two of you will have to act like a married couple?" Alexis is always concerned for her father. She does like Detective Beckett, but she hated to see him get hurt. "I just don't want you to get hurt if this was all just an act for the job. Whose idea was it anyway?"

Castle sighed softly, pushing the luggage away and taking a seat next to her. "Don't worry. I'm not going to force her to do anything. We are going to question the people there, get a little involved with them, and catch the killer. I promise it won't get out of control between the two of us. I came up with the idea, only because it was a better alternative way to catch the killer." _Yeah, right. Keep telling that to yourself, Richard._

There wasn't anything Alexis could do to prevent him from going, after all it is his choice. "I expect you to call and check in with me. At least let me know you're alive and kicking."

"Don't you mean screaming and kicking?"

"I'm not sure if I want to hear you scream like a child, but I guess it'll do." Faintly smiling. Castle pulled her in for a quick hug. "I'll see you in the morning, dad. Better get used to sleeping on the floor."

"Ha, ha. Good night, pumpkin."

* * *

><p>-Next morning at the 12th precinct-<p>

Beckett's head was pounding. She wasn't sick nor emotional. Just her goddamn head, filled with several little guys jack-hammering all over the place. Not just that, they were little Castles in a dark blue denim overall, bare chest with a hard hat. _Oh yeah, this makes perfect sense. Only Castle would give me headaches... where did his shirt go? _She groaned, trying to replace those naughty images in her head. If only she hadn't drank so much last night with Lanie. The night ended full of laughter and ideas. Especially wild ones. Beckett loosened up to Lanie, spilled her guts, and all the things she would do to Castle. Lanie certainly haven't forgotten a word she said.

She stood in front of Ryan and Esposito as they went over the list of the names of married couples. The subpoena came through in the morning. The head manager of the retreat was informed that Beckett and Castle would be going undercover under false identities. He also informed the detectives that he's willing to cooperate in any way for the two during their stay, providing them useful information, and allowing them to have their own devices in their bedroom. As long as they can't take it outside of their room.

Yesterday late afternoon, Castle told Beckett that he would come meet her at the precinct first thing in the morning before they ride off to hell. Beckett needed the devices, and to give in her vacation papers for Gates. Ryan and Esposito had everything set up for her in the next morning before she arrived, including the webcam attached to the laptop with a special cam to cam access with the precinct, only for the case.

Castle brought in a handful of coffee to the precinct, not just for Beckett but also for the boys and a little something for Lanie. He stopped by the morgue first to give her the bear claw. Noticed how she looked like shit. Dark circles around her eyes, not wanting to eat the bear claw but gladly took it to eat for later. Lanie was surprised by the fact that he thought of her. She doesn't drink coffee, but she recalled complaining to Castle once before that it wouldn't hurt to bring her something.

"You look like hell..." Grinning, "Did you get drunk with Esposito?"

Lanie gave him a death stare.

Castle gasped, "Oh! You had a one night stand!"

"I'm not putting up with your ridiculous accusation, Castle. Get out. You're too loud, and you're not helping my case here." Lanie pushes Castle towards the door, he was walking backwards. "Your wife is waiting upstairs."

"I haven't proposed properly to her, yet. Should I?" He asked.

"Sure, if you want to get capped in the ass, writer-boy." Lanie smirked.

Castle left the morgue, giving Lanie a sense of peace. He rode the elevator up to the bullpen, arriving with the tray in his hands. "Morning guys." He approaches the crowd, giving the boys their coffee first.

"Thanks Castle." Ryan took his cup.

"Thanks bro." Esposito nodded his head and took a sip. "We were just going over the list of names with Beckett. From the looks of it, only two couples left the retreat on the night of the murder. We'll pick them up for an interview but in the meantime... We crossed out the ones who came in on the day of the murder. Here," Esposito set the java onto Beckett's desk. "On the laptop, we added photographs of people attached to the names, so you would know who to talk to, and who to avoid."

"That's great stuff. Thanks guys for making our case easier." Castle spoke, handing the 2nd last cup to Beckett. She looked at it for a brief moment then took it. She knew it wasn't the best hangover cure. A temporary relief but she would feel much worse later on, that is if she plans to drink it. Instead, she thanked him and set it onto the desk. Trying her best to ignore her favourite drink. Beckett's hair was tied up in a bun, loose clothing with a light jacket over her shoulders. She looked like hell, yet still hot. Castle was catching on. He may not be a detective, but it doesn't take a genius to figure out what happened last night.

Ryan and Esposito filled in on the rest of the details. Told Castle about the no-device policy at the retreat. He understood, judging from the past experience, his phone was taken away, and he hated it. However, this time around, it's part of the job, and he was damn lucky to be part of it.

"Before we move along here, guys." Castle said, "There is one more thing that needs to be done."

"What is it?" Beckett asked. The boys looking at Castle in confusion.

Castle laughed nervously, reaching a hand in his pocket to pull out a small box. He never thought this day would come... that soon.

"Whoa, bro. You got a death wish or something?" Esposito asked.

Beckett raised her eyebrows, staring at the box. _Is he seriously going to..._

"Shut up. It's part of the job." Castle snapped at Esposito, turning to Beckett and got down onto one knee. Holding up the box in front of her as his eyes shifted upward to meet with hers. "Katherine Beckett, will you be my-"

"Get up, Castle!" She grasped his arms, forcing him to stand up. Some of the people were already giving them the attention, watching in delight. A lot of them had no idea about the undercover case, but some heard in a passing.

Ryan and Esposito were smirking, they enjoyed it as much as the rest of the audience did.

"Fine, ruin the moment would you?" He said, opening the box. The ring wasn't all that fancy... In fact, it was dirt cheap. "I found this lying around last night when I was packing, and I thought we would definitely be needing the rings." He held up his left hand, "See? I'm wearing one." Wiggling his fingers with a grin on his face.

Beckett could not be anymore embarrassed. She worked hard to maintain her reputation, and in one spite of Castle's move, he managed to tear down the entire brick wall. "Castle." Growling softly, "You could have done this in the car... Anywhere but HERE."

Castle forces the box into her hand, "Too late. Wear it."

She rolled her eyes, taking the ring out of the box and slipped it on. It felt weird, but in a small good way.

"And now I pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride." Ryan just had to do it. Oh, damn it. If he knew Castle was going to propose, he would have made the bet on the kiss.

Castle leaned in towards Beckett, but she planted the palm of her hand over his face, pushing him away. "Nice try guys. Work, now."

"Aw, Becks." Ryan moaned.

"Come on." Esposito whined.

Scowling her face, her eyes meeting with the two detectives.

"Ooh, there's the look." Ryan's expression changed.

"Scary." Esposito shuddered his shoulders, "Come on, bro. Back to work."

She kept the stare on the two, watching them turn their heads over their shoulders to look at her, checking to see whether she was still staring or not. She was. The boys sat at their desks, mumbling to each other.

Finally, the worst is over. Beckett's bag was underneath her desk. She sat at her desk, filling out some paperwork before they would head out. It was the vacations papers. Once she was done, she went to Gates' office to have a short talk, handed the papers over, and now it's vacation time.

Now she can do whatever the hell she wants with Castle.

That is unless he does something about it first.

Beckett came back to the desk, finding Castle in his seat. He held up her coffee cup, it was getting cold. "No, thanks. I'm good." She sat in her own seat. She just needed a moment before they get moving.

"Sounds like you had a hell of a night with Lanie." Castle spoke.

"How did you even know that? Did you stalk me or something last night?"

Castle scoffed, "You would like that, wouldn't you. I saw Lanie in the morgue. You two looked like shit. I'm assuming she needed a girls night before I kidnap you, right?"

"Right, Castle. That's just it." Her eyes sneering at him for a moment then took a deep sigh. "Let's go. Do you mind driving? I'd like to take a nap in the car."

"Me... driving? Kate, are you sure?"

"Castle. Don't do this to me now. Shut up and take it before I change my mind." She grinned a little, reaching over to grab her bag , but Castle took it before she could take it. "Castle, stop. I can carry my own stuff." She hated the whole idea of men carrying bags for their girlfriends. Beckett's a strong woman. If she could take a bullet to the heart, she sure as hell can handle her own damn bag.

Castle slipped the strap off his shoulder and handed the bag towards her. "Sorry. You looked like you needed a load off your back. This is your vacation after all." Instead, he took a hold of the other bag with the devices and case files inside of it.

She grunted as she slipped the strap on. "Thanks Castle, I'll manage. You didn't exactly... bring your Ferrari, did you?"

"Oh, no. It's a little bit over the top for a place like this." He said as they both walked towards the elevator. "Sure we can't use your car?"

"It's a cop car. They'll notice."

"Fine. My vespa then." Castle was joking. He smirked, keeping his face straight ahead to look at the metal doors closing as Beckett snapped a peek at Castle. When she saw the smirk, she then obviously knew he was joking. "I borrowed my mother's car on the way here. She hardly uses it, and it's not fancy either."

"Works for me."

* * *

><p>The trip over was quiet. Nobody called Beckett, she was off-call from work, but she keeps her cell phone close by in case Lanie or the boys might have found something for the case. But in the meantime, she slept through the whole trip over. She needed it, and without coffee, she felt tired without the caffeine, but she was feeling better than ever.<p>

Castle pulled up to the parking lot. Normally in places like these, they would have a valet to ensure that you wouldn't be able to sneak out and grab your car to get the hell out of the place. Away from your doomed marriage. But here was sufficient. He cruised around to look at the number of cars parked, not packed but moderately good.

He turned off the engine, switching his gaze over to Beckett. She was sleeping like a baby. Her head leaning onto the sweater she rolled up into a ball as a pillow against the window. She looked well rested. Castle couldn't help but watched her for a moment, savouring the beauty.

"Castle, stop staring."

How the hell does she even do that?

"I'm a detective."

"And a hell of a detective, Beckett. We're here." Castle rested a hand on her shoulder, nudging her softly.

"Stop it, Castle." She mumbled, her hand shifted to the right side of her. "I've got my gun."

He laughed a bit, "Like you'd actually ever threaten me with it- whoa! Beckett!" His hands held up in the air. He forgot how scary it was when she pointed the gun at him. Remembering the time she and the boys caught him with the dead body. He was at the wrong place at the wrong time. Thank god for advanced ballistics, otherwise Castle would have been rotting in jail.

She smirked, opening her eyes. Her gun was in her hand, slightly pointing at Castle, but her finger was certainly away from the trigger. "You do not want to play with fire, Castle." Shifting in her place to put the gun back in the holster.

"Seriously? Could you at least hide that for now until we get inside?"

"Fine. Pop the trunk." She rolled her eyes, taking the sweater and opening the passenger door. Closing it afterwards and came around to the trunk. Once the trunk was popped open, she took the holster off and shoved it inside her bag along with the sweater. Castle came out of the car to collect the bags, excluding Beckett's, which she got a hold of, and tossed the strap over her shoulder.

"Feel better?" He asked, slamming the trunk down.

"Yeah... A lot, actually. Thanks." She puts on a weak smile, slightly tired.

* * *

><p>Both approaching the receptionist. It was the exact the same woman from yesterday. She looked up to the two and smiled warmly. "Welcome back."<p>

"Thanks," Castle nodded. They set the bags down in front of themselves onto the ground. "I booked a week here under the name of Alexander Rodgers."

The lady typed up his name on screen. "Yes, correct. Welcome Mr. And Mrs. Rodgers. Now I'll need you to..." She waited for the documents to be printed out, it was pretty fast and a draft quality. "I'll need you to sign here... and here." She pointed to the underlined spots for their signatures.

Castle took the pen and signed. For him, it was easy to write his name as it is. He handed the pen over to Beckett... Clearly, she didn't know. She ended up writing her own signature into it. _Shit._ "Uhm." She laughed nervously. "Alex, darling. Since we're newlyweds, I haven't gotten used to your last name."

"Newlyweds?" The lady choked. "That's... you guys are having marriage troubles already? No offence, but wow."

"I know." Beckett smirked, "This guy here..." She rolled her eyes over to Castle, eye-sexing him all over his body. "Annoys the shit out of me. In fact, I didn't want to be here yesterday." She looked back to the receptionist, "I tried to run yesterday, remember?" Beckett smiled.

_Oh she's loving this... Careful Kate, you're the one playing with fire here._ He stared at her, not making a joke about it but back to the receptionist. "My wife is just being silly. She uses me for sex all the time. It's ridiculous. She refuses to talk about problems."

Beckett opened her mouth wide, staring at Castle. "Castle!"

_Oh shit... oops. Goddamn it, Rick._

"Castle?" The receptionist asked with both of her eyebrows raised.

Kate stunned that she had accidentally called him Castle. She looked over to the receptionist, "Uh... It's a nickname... Since he's big." She looked to Castle, giving him a quick cruise look over. "Yeah, big guy. Castle is a big building...?" _Kate, stop talking._

"Okay... I think I got the idea." The receptionist felt awkwardly weird between the two of them. One odd couple, she thought. "Don't worry about the signature. It's for the sex therapy approval. Doctor-patient confidentiality."

Again, Kate opened her mouth wide. "Sex... Sex therapy?" She stuttered, nearly choking out her words. _Richard Alexander Rodgers. You are so dead. _

Castle grinned like an idiot. "Honey. I know the sex has always been amazing, but I think we do need to slow it down a little. I mean, you did kind of worn me out several times."

All she could do was to close her eyes, inhale, then breathe out. "Fine." She was going to take this battle someplace else later. Poor girl's seen enough of their troubled marriage.

Once everything was paid and done for. The top manager came around to the desk, noticing the two. "Uh, Alexander and Katherine?" He asked.

"That's us." Castle responded.

"Perfect. My name is Arthur Banes. I'm the head management of the retreat. Now, if you'll please, follow me. I'll take you two to the room." He reached over to grab the card keys that was left on the receptionist's desk, looking at it to make sure he got the room number right. "This way." He gestured down the hallway.

The two grabbed their bags and followed him in silence. Arthur wanted to take this discussion somewhere more private, well aware of the fact that they were undercover, and he couldn't risk blowing their cover. Finally, further down the hallway, they arrived to their room on the first story level.

Arthur opened the door for them, granting them into the room. It wasn't all that bad, decent sized and the bed was quite large. Two armless steel chairs with red vinyl fabric seats near the empty dark wooden desk for their gadgets. Castle carefully placed the devices bag onto the desk, and scanned the room, taking in the idea that he was going to be spending the next week with Katherine Beckett.

Beckett didn't care much for the appearances of the room, she dropped her bag down for a minute, eyes focusing on Arthur. Awaiting for him to speak.

"This is where you'll be staying. I must remind you that we do not allow cell phones outside of this room. We have a strict policy around here." Arthur cleared his throat, taking a business card from the inside of his suit pocket, "If you need anything, anything at all. Please don't hesitate to call me. I will personally come down to meet you." Beckett took the card from him. "The brochures are in the drawer," signalling to the drawer underneath the desk. "We have a few activities outside, some indoors as well. We also have a buffet, you'll find the times in the information binder. There are two bars, one outdoor and inside. This isn't an all inclusive retreat though, the drinks you will have to pay for."

"Thank you, Arthur." She said, promptly looking around, hoping for something that would be suitable for Castle to sleep on. "There's no couch?"

Arthur laughed a little, "No, I'm afraid not. This is a marriage retreat, putting a couch in the room isn't going to help the relationship. Otherwise, you are here to work on the marriage, right?"

Beckett sulked, "Right." Laying her eyes on a whole bunch of ridiculously ugly looking pillows on the bed, all she could think of was to put them down onto the floor, and make Castle to sleep on top of it. _Oh but that's just way too mean... The hell with it. Sex therapy? He deserves it._

"Well. Don't hesitate to call. Have a good stay." Arthur nodded his head to the two, leaving the room. Doing them a favour and closed the door as well.

"Beckett?" He asked. "Which side do you prefer?"

She turned to look at him with a scowling smile, "I'll have you know that you are going to sleep... right here." She pointed to the floor with both fingers. "Don't worry, I'll give you the pillows."

"I have a bad back."

"Nice try Castle. You're sleeping on the floor."

Castle grunted. "Come on, Becks. We're grown ups here. I'm not going to bite, I promise."

_It's not you that I'm worried about. _Beckett bit her lower lip then let out a deep exhale. "Fine. I'm putting the pillows between us then. Cross it and you die."

"Fine." Finally, they were both in agreement.

Beckett took her bag and tossed it next to bed on the left side. She would be closer to the bathroom. Castle rested his bag on the right side. Beckett stared at the bag, almost forgetting something she needed to say to Castle. "Just because you got me into sex therapy doesn't mean you'll be getting anything this week."

"I don't expect anything to happen." Castle lied. Something was bound to happen sooner or later.

"Good."

* * *

><p>Finally, they were settled in. Their clothing packed away neatly in separate drawers. Laptop hooked up and running on the desk with a few case folders aside. Beckett had to make sure everything was intact on the laptop, opening up the client database to start reviewing early. Castle pulled up the chair next to Beckett. <em>These chairs aren't comfortable... But then again, Beckett would be comfortable on top of you. Richard, get your shit together. It's only been a few hours, and you're thinking like a goddamn horny kid.<em> "I figure we could explore the retreat. Meet a few people and see what's out there. Could use some coffee too."

Coffee. Beckett sure as hell needed one. Pretty much recovered for the most part from this morning hangover, she pushed herself back away from the desk and stood. "Sure. We can look around and come back in time to shower for dinner. Besides, I'm kind of hungry for something small."

Castle reached the drawer underneath the desk to pull out the binder, making sure the buffet would still be available, and it still is. "Good to go now?"

"Yeah."

* * *

><p>It was somewhat awkward on the way over to the buffet. A few older couples walked by them, hand in hand, smiling at Castle and Kate. Good god, they weren't even holding hands, and yet, they're getting looks. Nobody suspicious yet.<p>

They arrived at the buffet, the hostess seated them close to the center the area. Beckett took her seat at a two seated table, across from Castle. "Nu huh, Castle. You're going to get me a cup of coffee... and a little something."

Once again, he was whipped. "Sure, anything you like mind?"

"Surprise me."

He smiled, rose from the chair to run over to the buffet table. Beckett took the time to look around her. The buffet wasn't busy at all, a few older couples sitting, eating and talking. Nothing out of ordinary jumped out to her, at least not yet. She would have to look for someone young, beautiful, blonde, and maybe, slutty looking. Castle came back to their table with his fingers wrapped through a pair of mug handlers, and a bowl of fruit in another. Settling them all down before taking his seat.

Beckett took the bowl of fruit into her personal space. A few strawberries, mango, grapes, and blueberries. Not a bad choice. She wanted something light anyway. Popping a few blueberries into her mouth, "Mmm. Fresh."

Castle reached over to pick up a strawberry, but Beckett slapped him on the hand. Dropping it. "Hey!"

"Get your own, Castle." She grinned, taking the strawberry he dropped and inserted the tip into her mouth. Taking the time to savour it in the most alluring teasing way, the way her lips wrapped delicately around the tip. Biting down. _Delicious._

He stared in agony. Eyebrows furrowing, watching Beckett taking control. Of course, she always have to be the one to take the lead. "Couldn't hurt to share, you know? I brought you some coffee too!"

"Mhm, thanks Castle." She swallowed the fruit and took the cup of coffee, taking a sip. "Good coffee too."

" That's not ... You're just ..." _Argh. Give up, Richard. _"I'm going to grab something then." Castle stood again.

"Oh, Castle?"

He inhaled. _What now? _"Yes, milady?"

"Some whipped cream?"

_You're going to be the death of me, Detective Beckett. _"As you wish."

A few minutes later, he came back with his _own_ bowl of fruit, along with some whipped cream on the side in a mini bowl. Finally, he can eat, and back in his seat.

Beckett reached over to grab a strawberry from his bowl, dipping it in the whipped cream, and slowly licking the whipped cream off the strawberry. She just had to take one of his to remind him who's in charge, again.

Castle stared, jaw opening.

She watched him, furrowing her eyebrows. "Castle. That's creepy."

"Excuse me, I'm not the one sexing up all over a strawberry."

Beckett laughed, "I'm sorry," biting down onto the strawberry, "Want to go outside after? It's kind of dead in here."

"Sure... Oh, Beckett?"

"What?" Her hand reaching over to acquire another strawberry, she didn't have anymore in her own bowl.

"Quit taking my fruit." He slapped her hand as she reaches for another one.

* * *

><p>Castle and Beckett walked to the outdoors, the weather was harmless. It was spring time, suitable to be outside at this time around. There were several dividers laid out in a single strip, like Arthur had mentioned, from couples gaming to teamwork activities. Most of them suitable for couples who needs to work on their trusting issues.<p>

"Let's check that one out," Beckett jerked her head once over to the potato sack race. Pure teamwork activity. She mentioned it before to Castle that they would definitely need to do one of these.

Castle chuckled softly to himself, "We're going to do that today?"

"Oh god, no. Another day, Castle. We need to meet a few people, so let's stick with that for today."

They walked side by side over to the area, a few couples watching others failing miserably at the race. A few laughed, a few argued, and some were surprisingly skilled at it. Beckett and Castle couldn't help themselves but to scoff at the runners, thinking they wouldn't have a problem. After all, teamwork is their strongest suit.

A woman next to Beckett strikes up a conversation, "Hello, I'm Mary. Are you two new here?" Holding out a hand for Beckett to shake. The first thing Beckett noticed was her hair. She wasn't a blonde but a light brunette. Sighing, not actually wanting to waste her time but she has to be friendly.

She shook her hand, "Name's Kate. We just arrived, this is my partner Ca- uh, Alexander..."

"How you doing?" Castle shook Mary's hand after Beckett was done.

Mary placed her hand onto her husband's arm, he was distracted by the race. The husband turned to look at the two, greeting them for a short time before watching the race. "My husband isn't very social, you'll have to forgive him."

"That's alright." Beckett smiled, nearing to the point where she wanted to excuse herself out of this one.

The husband shot a few glances over to Castle as his wife was speaking to Beckett. "Hey..." His eyes leering at Castle, "...you look familiar."

Castle's eyes widened. This is what he was afraid of. Somebody could have easily recognized him as the famous author. Laughing it off nervously, "Who? Me?"

"...Richard Castle! You're him, aren't you?" The husband spoke.

Beckett bit her lower lip. She was afraid of this as well.

"No... No, no, no." Again, laughing. "I get that all the time. Believe me, it's scarily remarkable how I look like the ruggedly handsome writer."

_Seriously? _Beckett thought.

The husband kept his narrowing eyes on Castle for a few seconds. "...ah. Okay... well, you do kind of look too old to be him. Guy's a playboy, he wouldn't be married. Sorry lad."

Beckett bit down on the insides of her cheeks, preventing herself from laughing. "So, hey. Mary, it was nice meeting you. We're going to check out some stuff before we head back."

Mary smiled, "It was nice meeting you two as well." Turning to look at Castle's facial expression, he was pissed at the husband. "Don't worry," her hand reaching over to grasp his cheek, pinching it. "I think you're handsome."

_Best vacation, ever. _Beckett slipped an arm around Castle's, finally breaking out her little laugh. "Come on, old man."

Richard Castle. The man of many words... had nothing to say in all this. His ego was brutally beaten badly. Stomped all over. Mary's compliment helped a little, but he still wanted to slap this guy silly.

* * *

><p>A few other stalls weren't all that compelling for Beckett. Castle might have gotten himself a little too excited over a few activities they could do in the next few days. She constantly reminded him that they're here on a job.<p>

"Party pooper."

"Castle." She scoffed. "What? Potato sack race isn't enough for you?"

He shrugged his shoulders, mumbling to himself like an immature child asking for candy. She rolled her eyes.

"Nothing is ever enough with you, Castle." Beckett looked over to a different couple. A man in 30's along with a woman in her 30's as well. She was a blonde, surely could be worth the effort. "I'm going to introduce myself. Make yourself useful, would you?" Beckett patted on his chest a few times before going over to the couple she spotted.

Castle took a deep sigh, watching Beckett swaying her hips over. _Is she really doing that on purpose?_

"...Hi handsome." A woman came up next to Castle, smirking.

Castle's attention turned to her. _Hey, a blonde... why is it that I always attract the blonde ones? Maybe it's a good thing. _"Hi back."

"Veronica Hart." Her delicate hand in front of Castle. She was pretty, but no sexier than Beckett. Beckett was more of a bad girl type of beauty. This one was more of a young, slutty desperate housewife type of beauty. Bright peach plumped lips, long eyelashes and a wavy bouncy hair down to her shoulder length. Her vivid blue eyes meeting with his. Wearing a low white tank top with a thin black jacket over her shoulders. Her cleavage pressed up against each other, all there for Castle to look if he wants to. Dark blue skinny jeans with a pair of flip flops.

"Alexander Rodgers." Castle shook her hand softly. She wasn't strong like Beckett but elegant in a classy way. "Does your husband know you're hitting on married guys?"

Veronica laughed, "Of course. I'm a very flirty woman. He doesn't like it, but it is how I am. Tell me, Alexander..." She purred his name, "Are you here by choice or were you dragged into it?"

"By choice. I dragged my wife into all this. She didn't want to, but I believe in our marriage." Castle was trying hard not to flirt. Although, it wouldn't hurt to make Beckett jealous... would it? Oh, the worst she could do is kick him out of bed. "... The sex got a bit too much between us. She keeps using me for it. Let's fuck it out, she says. No matter what."

"Oh gosh, Alex. I don't disagree with her though. Sometimes it is better to just..." Veronica leaning in close to Castle's ears, tip-toeing, "fuck it out."

Beckett's instincts were dead-wrong with the couple she spotted. They were far too much in love with each other. Nothing out of ordinary. She excused herself away from the two. Spotting Castle with a blonde woman coming so dangerously close to his ear, whispering him something. _...What the hell? _Her feet finding the way back to Castle. "Am I interrupting something here?" She asked the two.

Veronica backed off when she saw her approaching. "Hi! I'm sorry, you must be...?"

"His wife." Beckett was harsh. "Katherine Rodgers."

"Oh, of course. My name's Veronica Hart. I must say... your husband is rather charming. You are lucky to have a fine man."

"You bet your ass I do." Kate wasn't a jealous woman, but she sure as hell isn't going to mark her territory. Not just yet. Instead, she smiled. Trying to be calm about it.

Castle got a little hot with the way she spoke of him. It felt damn good, but he knew she probably didn't mean it. All of it could be just an act. This is what Alexis was afraid of. He would easily fall for it and wind up getting hurt in the end. "Kate, be nice."

Veronica spoke up, "I didn't mean to make it look like I was coming onto your husband. I wanted to introduce myself. My husband and I have been here in a little over two weeks, we just want to make some new friends, is all."

"Where is your husband?" Beckett wondered.

"Oh... He's over there." She pointed over to a large guy at an activity stall. From a far, comparing him to a few people he's speaking to at the moment, he was a whole lot bigger than the other males accompanying him. "His name is Sebastian Hart. He's my rock." She smiles.

Castle excused himself and Beckett away from Veronica for a moment, their backs turned to her. Whispering to Beckett quietly, "Look. She was hitting on me... She's blonde too. She could be the one we're looking for."

"She was hitting on you?" Beckett's voice was practically raised, Castle quickly shushed her with his finger. Beckett whipped his finger away from her mouth. Castle glanced over his shoulder, Veronica wasn't watching. Thank god.

"At least for now, consider her as a suspect. We'll head back, review her background, then we'll go from there."

"Fine." Almost for a second there, Beckett seemed like she didn't care about the case. She was too busy dealing with the jealously. It was a good thing Castle was there to remind her about the case; otherwise she might have just marked her territory then.

Veronica came close to the two when they were in agreement, "Hey... Guys. I don't mean to bother the two of you, but I'd like to get to know the two of you later? I'll introduce my husband then." Smiling, "Katherine, I apologize if I seem to cross the line back there."

_You damn right you did._

"But I hope you'll forgive me and accompany us for dinner."

Together turned in unison to face Veronica, Beckett sighed and nodded her head. "Alright. Dinner it is then."

"Yay!" Veronica was cheerful, which scared Beckett a little. She wasn't used to it. But then Veronica pulled Beckett into a quick hug, she was mortified. Not even welcoming her in her arms. "Breaking the ice." Veronica chuckles. "See you then."

Beckett watched her leave... It was about goddamn time she left the two alone. "I don't like her."

"I don't expect you to do." Castle nudging Beckett's shoulder, "Let's go back. I think we're done for now."

* * *

><p>Back to their room, finally. It seemed like a long day. It only had been three hours since they left the room alone, close to 5 PM. Beckett initially took advantage of the laptop, starting it up.<p>

Castle walked over to unplug his iPhone, heading over to the bed and sat onto it. He watches Beckett for a moment before touching a few buttons to call Alexis. Waiting patiently until she picks up on the other line, "Hi pumpkin."

Beckett looked over her shoulder to Castle, smiling at him. Then back to the monitor. She knew Castle would always check in with Alexis, no matter where he would be, she always misses her dad. Waiting for the laptop to load up on the clients information. She looked down to her cell phone, a new text message from Esposito.

**Esposito: check in with us for upd8**

The boys knew she wouldn't have her cell phone with her at all times , but she promised she would check in whenever she can. Sending a instant message back to Esposito if he would be available to come online via webcam.

**Esposito: coming on with ryan, we miss castle xoxo**

Beckett scoffed with a light laugh. She loved their whole bromance going on. Once everything was loaded up, she logged in to the precinct system, and waited for the detectives to log on.

"We're fine. Yes... No." A pause, "No! Tell mother to keep her hands away from my- ... yes. Don't let her drink the bottle of scotch. No, no, don't put mother on." Castle took a deep sigh, "Hi mother." Frustrated with his family back at home. Barely a day and they're having a crisis at home.

She couldn't help but listen to Castle speaking to his daughter and mother. It's usually fun to listen to him now and then. Helps her remind that Castle wasn't just an annoying writer-boy on a sugar rush, he was also a devoted father.

_*BLIP*_

Beckett accepted the video call. Ryan and Esposito appeared on the screen, both sitting close together at Ryan's desk. "Hey guys." She smirked.

"Hey boss," Ryan spoke, "How's it going over there?"

"Fantastic. Miss me?"

"We miss Castle." Esposito replied. "Where is he?"

"Funny, guys. What do we got so far on the case?" She leaned back in her chair. This was better than texting or calling. She was happy to see a familiar face after a crazy day with the writer-boy.

Castle was done with the phone call. He came up behind Beckett, head leaning over her shoulder, "Hey Esposito, you look better on here than you do in person."

"Up yours, Castle." Esposito responded. "We interviewed the couples who left on the day of the murder. They were nowhere near the victim's place, we had their alibis checked out as well. They were solid. We got nothing much to do over here, boss."

Ryan nudged Esposito's arm.

"Oh, yeah. Lanie might have found something. I'll have her come up to speak with you." Esposito got up from his chair to move out of the way, calling up Lanie.

"Hey Castle," Ryan spoke out to Castle, "You guys sharing a bed?"

"No."

"Yes." Castle stared at Beckett, "I'm not taking the floor, you agreed!"

"Shut up, Castle."

On the screen, Castle and Beckett watched Ryan patting Esposito's hip, and flickers his fingers. Esposito groaned, taking out a 20 and shoved it in Ryan's hand while on cell with Lanie. Ryan was laughing this one out. The two detectives caught Beckett's scowling countenance. They knew their boss hated it when they gamble at the precinct... but she isn't around.

Esposito sat back down in his chair. "Lanie's on her way up here. Any leads for us?"

"We got two suspects so far, she goes by Veronica Hart and a husband named Sebastian Hart. She's a blonde, in 30's. It's enough to work with for now. Anything new, keep me posted." Beckett responded.

"Alright boss." Ryan's eyes shifted up, someone was approaching their area. It was Lanie. She came over and shooed Ryan out of his seat. Lanie sat down with a huge smile on her face. "Details, girlfriend! ...Oh, hey Castle." Lanie spoke too soon.

Castle grinned.

Beckett groaned in a slight embarrassment, "Lanie, you found something?"

"Uh huh. I found a few traces of clothing fibre, neither of the victim's clothing matched the fibre. It might have belonged to the third suspect... Or the killer's. It's hard to determine for now. The lab is a little backed up at the moment, I'll have something new for you by tomorrow."

"Great, thanks Lanie. Anything else?"

"Nope, afraid not."

Beckett sighed. "Our lead suspect isn't solid enough for a warrant... All we need to do is find the right person, match the DNA, and this case would have been over by then."

"Sit tight and enjoy your vacation then."

"Thanks!" Castle interrupted the two, "We're having so much fun here. Everybody thinks we were convincing enough to be married."

"Castle!"

"Oh, and a guy almost made me. He said I looked-"

Beckett snapped at him before he could say anything else, staring at the gang through the monitor, "He said he's too old to be the famous Richard Castle author." Ending the sentence with a grin.

Esposito laughed, "Bro, it's amazing what photoshop can do."

"You guys suck... I'm going to take a shower, do you mind?" He asked Beckett, eyes away from the monitor.

"Go ahead, I'll review the case here for a bit."

Ryan and Esposito fed the birds with enormous smirks on their faces.

Lanie told the boys to go away, wanting some private time alone with Beckett. Ryan and Esposito knew that once Lanie would be alone with Beckett, she would be dishing... and the information would come to the boys. Oh, it's a vicious cycle. They left her alone without a word.

Beckett studied the room behind her to make sure Castle had gone into the bathroom for a quick shower. She waited to hear the door lock clicking. Then the coast was clear. She turn to meet with Lanie, typing into the small chat box under the video streaming.

**Beckett: Talk here**

Lanie heard a slight blip, her eyes darting over to the chat box. _Uh oh, something must have happened._

**Lanie: whats up girl**

**Beckett: he got us into sex therapy!**

Lanie's eyes widened, laughing through the video. Beckett wasn't too happy with that, shushing her.

**Beckett: be quiet**

**Beckett: its not funny**

**Beckett: what do I do?**

**Lanie: you'll be fine**

**Lanie: make up a story**

**Lanie: tell the therapist he has an erectile dysfunction lol**

**Beckett: i like the sound of that **

Beckett smiled. Anything to annoy Castle. Lanie was right, she'll have to make up a story, and for the hell of it, hurt his ego.

**Lanie: but watch out, i hear you might have to get down and dirty**

**Beckett: what?**

**Lanie: come on girl, its sex therapy... expect the naughty ;)**

**Beckett: hell no**

Beckett's eyes widened, she caught Gates looking right at her on screen. She had been watching her the whole time behind Lanie. She was too focused on the chat box before then, ignoring Lanie's actions. Clearing her throat, "Lanie..."

"Detective Beckett." Gates spoke loud and clear, causing Lanie to jump. Lanie kept her eyes on the screen, not wanting to look, not wanting to experience the Devil's eyes... no thank you. "Are you all settled in over there?" Gates asked.

"Yes, sir. We believe we may have found our best suspects. We're working down the lead, we came back here to review the case before we go out." _Please, god, please... I hope you haven't been reading the conversation. _Beckett sure as hell was worried. She remembered Gates had specifically reminded her that it was her vacation time, she could do whatever the hell she wants with Castle, but only if she focuses her job on hand while she's there. She didn't need to remind Beckett what's at stake here.

"Good work, detective. I look forward to see the killer behind bars." Gates spoke, she pivoted her torso to leave but spun back to Beckett, "I wish you the best of luck in sex therapy. My husband and I had some issues, they were resolved, and needless to say... Best money spent." Gates finally turning to leave the two of them alone.

Beckett didn't take the time to thank her, but she didn't genuinely want to. Instead, she couldn't believe what she said. She pouted her lips and looked down to the chat box when she heard a blip.

**Lanie: OMG**

**Lanie: plz tell me shes not behind me anymore**

Beckett quickly looked up, Gates wasn't there anymore.

**Beckett: shes gone ... oh god lanie help me**

**Lanie: you're on your own girl**

**Lanie: make his money worth it ;)**

Beckett was about to type , but she heard the door unlocked, spooked, and rotating herself towards Castle's existence. Really hoping Castle wouldn't come over to look at the conversation.

Castle was running out of the bathroom in his towel, his hand in fist, holding onto the towel for dear life. The damn towel was too short for Richard's height. Castle looked over to see Beckett, slightly embarrassed by the fact that this is the first time she's seen him almost naked. His hair wet, water trickling down all over his face, his broad chest, and his physique wasn't so bad, she thought.

He truly is a big guy. "Uh, sorry, forgot my shampoo." His eyes meeting Lanie who just happened to be staring with a humming expression. _Shit. _

Beckett wasn't responding, she was in a state of shock. Her eyebrows raising, she was easily amused.

Castle pointed over to the heavy luggage next to the bed, "I'll just go... get... my shampoo..." He was stuttering a little, not used to having her staring at him like this. He scurried over to the bag, quickly unzipped the front pouch to grab the bottle. Castle was careful how he bent over to grab it, seeing that the towel was riding so dangerously high up to his thigh.

Finally, he rushed over to the bathroom, his eyes noticing that Beckett still kept her eyes on him the whole time. Unfortunately, her eyeing all over him got him fidgety. He nervously bumped into the bedpost at the corner edge of the bed, his hand in towel slipped out to grab his thigh in pain. Luckily for his immediate reflex, he managed to grab the towel in front of him, covering his frontal... except for his backside in all glory for Beckett to see.

Beckett's mouth opened wide, furrowing her eyebrows. _Oh, my, god... _Closing her mouth and adjusting her head slightly to the side as she examines his bare ass. _He actually does have a nice ass. _Her eyebrows raising in a heartbeat. Very quietly humming to herself.

Castle thought to himself, _fuck. Fuck. Fuck. _His other occupied hand with the shampoo reaching over to his backside, trying to cover up as much as he could. Diligently heading back to the bathroom, not daring himself to look at Beckett.

She snapped back to the video screen once Castle disappeared into the bathroom. She had a massive grin on her face when she saw Lanie's eyes broadened, snickering at Lanie's appearance. Priceless.

**Beckett: on a scale of 1 to 10?**

**Lanie: 10 girl, 10**

Beckett laughed a little louder this time, she was agreeing with Lanie. This was by far, the best moment of the vacation.

**Beckett: Lanie do u know if this streaming is recorded?**

**Lanie: yes!**

**Beckett: great, have the boys rip out that part for me... blackmail ;)**

**Lanie: sure you want to traumatize the boys? **

**Beckett: they'll be ok after a week :)**

* * *

><p>About 20 minutes later, Castle gathered the courage to come outside, fully dressed. Beckett was done with the webcam chat; instead she was reviewing the background information on their mysterious suspects. She turned to look at Castle, "You take too long. Next time, I'm going first." She got up from her seat, stretching her arms upwards.<p>

"Sorry." He mumbled, "You liked it, didn't you?"

"Like what?" She asked on her way over to her luggage on the other side of the floor while his was on the other side. Bending her knees to unzip her bag, taking out the things she needs for the bathroom.

"You know what I'm talking about, Detective." Castle smirked, "In fact, you stared." Castle came over to hover behind her, watching her taking out her things. Then he saw she was taking out some fancy undergarments. _Oh my god... they're so sexy-_

"Castle. What are you doing?" She could feel his presence, startling him to turn away.

"Sorry!" He couldn't help himself.

She rose from her knees with the clothing in hands along with her cherry-scented shampoo on top of it. "I didn't stare. In fact, I was admiring." Grinning on the way over to the bathroom.

_I knew it. Castle mischievously smirked, making his journey over to the laptop._

**A/N: ;) I promise you guys will experience their first sex therapy session in the next chapter.. If you'd like, toss some ideas my way and I'll see what I can do with it.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sex Therapy**

**A/N: I apologize for not updating soon, I ended up writing almost 3 chapters worth in my time instead of focusing on this chapter I was supposed to publish... oops. Suggestions are always welcome, I would still toss in a few scenes / dialouge... whatever the fandom would like to see. ;) Reviews are highly appreciated, thanks! Oh, the first scene in this chapter turned out to be dull... or at least I thought so. Bear with me, I hate case-related stuff, but hey, I prefer to keep the fire burning.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Castle.**

* * *

><p>It was dinner time, the duo approached the host stand. Beckett asked the host if a woman named Veronica Hart would be expecting them. The host nodded, guided them to the right table.<p>

"Hey!" Veronica stood to give the two a quick hug. "This is Sebastian," She took a quick glance over to her husband, "This is Alexander and Katherine. I ran into them earlier today."

Sebastian got up and shook the duo's hands, greeting them. "Have a drink with us." Sebastian wasn't a friendly guy. His expression was point blank, he didn't actually give a crap when it comes to meeting new people. His main focus here was to work on their marriage, and his wife wasn't doing a terrific job so far, keeping up with the flirting and meeting new people every day. Sebastian was bigger than Castle, slightly taller, and well built.

"Don't mind if I do..." Beckett mumbled, she took her seat next to Castle, together were sitting across from the couple.

The waiter came around the moment they sat, "Evening. Would anyone like something from the bar?"

"We'll have a red Merlot." Castle spoke, taking out his wallet to hand the waiter his credit card. After all, they do have to pay for it. "Bring back the bottle, please."

"Very well, sir." The waiter turned to the other couple, "Anything?" They both waved him off, they already had their drinks long before the Rodgers came along. He bowed his head once and left them alone.

"Thanks Castle." _Shit. I seriously have to stop doing that. _Beckett closed her eyes shut for a second, groaning in frustration. When it comes to undercover work, she normally wouldn't have a problem pretending to be someone else with a significant other. But this is Castle. She doesn't see him as a cop, and this was hardly a dangerous undercover mission.

"Castle?" Veronica asked. "Is that a nickname?"

Castle shrugged it off, "Yeah, my wife likes to call me Castle. I'm a big guy."

"Oh!" Veronica laughed, "That's adorable." She was smiling at him, holding her gaze on his. Veronica picked up her glass of wine, taking a sip and giving him a quick wink.

Beckett didn't quite catch that, but the way Veronica was looking at him made her nauseous.

Sebastian watched the two, he hated it their little flirty interaction. Her wink just so happened to be on the other side, Sebastian didn't quite catch it either. He cleared his throat to interrupt them. "How long are you guys here for?"

"A week." Beckett responded, "We just came in today."

Castle leaned forward to rest his elbows onto the table, "Are you guys doing sex therapy?"

"Alex!" Beckett smacked him on the arm.

His eyes met with her glare, "I'm curious!" Then back to the couple, "I got us a few sessions for the week. We're going to be seeing her tomorrow at 1."

Veronica giggled, "Our therapist is a guy. I think there's like, 3 different therapists on board? Although, we did have a few interesting sessions, if that's what you're curious about."

"Veronica, don't talk about our personal lives." Sebastian nearly growled.

"And I'd rather we don't either." Beckett implied to Castle.

"No fun." Castle was sulking, leaning back in his chair.

The waiter finally came back with the bottle, pouring a sample for Castle to taste, since he's going to be buying the whole bottle. Castle took the time to sniff it, twirling it around and tasting it. He gave the waiter an approval nod. The waiter poured to fill up his glass and Beckett's as well. He reached into his front pouch, taking out his credit card along with the bill and a pen.

"So, Katherine. What brings you here?" Veronica asked.

Castle signed the bill away and handed everything back to the waiter.

Beckett too a quick sip of her wine before answering, "Just a couple of issues that needs to be resolved."

"Is that so?" Sebastian didn't quite believe her. He knew there was more to it, and she wasn't sharing with the group. "Doesn't look like you want to be here."

She raised her eyebrows, "Excuse me?"

"I see the way you look at him. You're-" Sebastian was interrupted by Veronica. She placed her hand onto his arm and squeezing it hard to stop him. "Sorry. I get a little carried away sometimes."

" I apologize for my husband. He's very observant and sometimes he likes to be a little nosey." Veronica switched her attention over to the man next to her, "Honey, please, not tonight." She leaned in to whisper in his ear, "_You always scare everybody away... I'm trying to make friends here."_

Sebastian took a deep sigh with disapproval but nodded. Giving her a chaste kiss on the lips. "Sorry." He turned to the couple, "I'm sorry."

"It's fine." Castle spoke. Wishing he had super-spy ears. "We are here to work on our marriages. Let's not discuss why we're here but make some new memories, hm?" He raised his wine glass, "I'd like to make a toast. I'd like to say thank you for welcoming us here and I wish you two the best of luck." The group raised their glasses to clink with each others, gulping down a small sip.

Castle settled his wine glass down, "Kate, let's grab some dinner." He stood in front of the table, taking a hold of Kate's wrist and pulling her up to stand. Beckett groaned, allowing Castle to pull her up from her seat. Both heading over to the buffet.

"Katherine doesn't look like a happy wife." Sebastian spoke, taking another sip.

Veronica turned in her seat to face him. "Yeah, I told you, he dragged her into this. I feel bad for them."

"Babe. I'm here for us, not them. I don't care if they're having problems in the bedroom."

"Sebastian!"

"Leave them alone," Sebastian leaned over to give her butterfly kisses on the neck. "Come on. Lets ditch them. I want you in bed, now."

* * *

><p>Castle took Kate further away from their tables. She was standing next to Castle in front of the meals laid out underneath the germs-protection window. "Are you okay?"<p>

"Castle, I..." Wanting to say something so bad that she didn't want him near Veronica at all. Hell, she was beginning to think that this whole thing was already a lousy idea. But Kate knew it would be unprofessional of her to screw this up. Instead, she lightened herself up by putting on a smile, "Let's just eat. I'd rather get this night over with and work on a better plan tomorrow."

"Kate, if something's bothering you... You can tell me anything." He said as he picks up a couple of food onto the plate with a tong.

"Thanks. I'm just cranky when I'm tired. I barely had a good rest today." A perfect excuse. Castle understood. "Don't worry about me, Castle. I'd like to head back after dinner, catch up on my sleep."

"We can do that." Castle grabbed the gravy spoon, pouring a handful onto his mashed potatoes on the side of his main dish.

"You should stay. I trust you use your charms, talk to them, and fill me in later." Beckett grabbed a few more vegetables before heading back to their table. Walking side by side until they reached their table. "... Is this even our table?" It was empty. Sebastian and Veronica were gone.

"I'm pretty sure it's ours... And my bottle of wine's missing." Castle sighed, putting the plate down.

Beckett took her seat, "I can't arrest them for stealing your bottle of wine." The existence of Harts were nowhere to be found, they weren't at the buffet either, but she was glad. They were getting on her nerves. A flirty wife with a dull husband wasn't her favourite choice of company.

"So rude." Castle sat down. He didn't mind much for his cheap bottle of wine, which was surprisingly decent. Castle still has his glass and Beckett's glass was near empty. "Do you want some of mine?"

She was fiddling with her food with a fork, looking up to Castle and smiled, "No, I have my share. Keep yours, Castle." Beckett saw two glasses of water left untouched on the Hart's side. She reaches over to grab a glass of their water.

"Hey! They might have poisoned that!"

"Really?" Beckett took a sip of her water with an eyebrow raising, "Why would they even do that? You know what, never mind I asked." She saw Castle was about to speak. "Spare me your theories, Castle. Let's just enjoy our dinner." She put on a weak grin. Just for one night, she wanted to eat in peace with Castle... And that she did.

* * *

><p>They took their time to walk back to their room. Beckett slipped an arm around Castle's, linking together side by side. Neither of them said much to each other. The case was off their minds, everything else too. Beckett was simply too tired to be dealing with anything but to go back, change into her comfortable pyjamas and sleep.<p>

Settling back into their room, she removed her arm away from Castle's, but Castle gripped onto her wrist to stop her from going anywhere. This was all becoming too familiar for Kate. Recalling the moment she grabbed for her gun, Castle stopped her in full motion, only to grab her cheek, and kissed her for the first time. She turned to look at Castle, eyes meeting with their gaze. Not expecting what was going to happen next.

He genuinely let go of her wrist, "I just wanted to let you know that I'm willing to sleep on the floor if you're not comfortable with me on the bed."

_Damn it. _"Castle..." She stepped in close, face to face with him and grasped his cheeks with both hands, "I'm tired. I don't care. I just want to sleep and if you want to sleep on the floor, fine. I don't care." Her hands releasing from his cheeks, but she quickly pinched his cheek with a hand, "Besides, you wouldn't want to have a hunchback when we go into our first sex therapy. It would look... strange. I can't allow to give our therapist any ideas." She stepped away, plastering a grin on her face and winked. "I'll go change first."

Castle chuckled. It wasn't the response he was expecting from Beckett, but he'll take it. It was a light joke.

"Oh, Castle." Beckett turned, facing him, "The rules still applies. Cross the pillows, and you die." She resumed back to her doings.

Mumbling to himself, "of course."

She came out a few minutes later. Her hair was down, breath brushed, and wearing a loose t-shirt with a pair of pyjamas shorts. The hem stopped to her upper thigh, baring just a little too much skin for Castle to handle.

He was on the edge of the bed with his night clothing on his lap. He was waiting for Beckett to come out, and when she did, thank god the clothing were on his lap. _...I should have taken the floor in the first place. _He stood, carefully keeping the clothing in front of his crotch.

Beckett might have been exhausted, but the detective inside of her made her extremely observant. She stole a quick look, then back to the bed, trying hard not to grin. Reaching over to pull the blanket away, rearranging the pillows to have them lined up in the center of the bed underneath the blanket. It wasn't a tall fort but enough.

Castle came out about a decent 10 minutes later out of the bathroom. It was a good thing Beckett went first, he needed time to adjust himself before embarrassing himself any further. Beckett was already in bed, fast asleep with the lamp next to her turned off. He came around the bed and slid himself underneath the blanket. _I can do this. She's just tired, Richard. Think about Gates... Think about Gates... oh god, what am I doing to my poor brain?_

And with that, he slept in disturbance.

* * *

><p>She woke up first. Beckett was feeling well-rested, she hadn't had a decent night sleep in a while. She looked over to the man next to her, the pillows were kicked away, and Castle was facing her. His eyes shut, but Beckett noticed her leg was encircling over Castle's hip. <em>Seriously, one night, and you can't control your body. <em>Beckett suffered a total loss of body warmth the second she drew her leg away. She couldn't afford to deal with anything awkward between them. Backing away from his personal space, she looked over to his face, his 5'o'clock shadow in clear view, he really is handsome.

Castle didn't feel a thing when Beckett retreated herself away.

"Wake up," she nudged his shoulder gently.

He didn't budge. Nothing.

"Castle, wake up." She nudged him harder this time. Still nothing. She leaned over speak in his ear, "I'm NAKED."

Castle murmuring softly in his sleep, "Yes... yes, you are..."

Beckett slapped him on the cheek.

His eyes flew wide open, groaning at the pain,"Ow!" Rubbing a hand against his cheek. "Are you always like this in the mornings? I'm beginning to regret this little vacation with you, Detective Beckett."

She rolled her eyes at him, "Rise and shine. It's a little past 9."

* * *

><p>Their morning was slow. They went to the buffet for breakfast, took their time to eat, back to the room with coffee to check in with Esposito and Ryan for a quick update. So far, there wasn't anything new on the case.<p>

Esposito was on screen with Castle sitting in front of the laptop. Work was a little slow over at the precinct. Ryan and Esposito were called in late last night for a pop and drop, getting nowhere. They were usually the hard ones to close. "How did your first night go with Beckett?"

"Terrible. She slapped me in the morning... I wasn't even touching her!" Castle responded. Beckett was in the bedroom, on her bed, reading the case folder. She heard him but said nothing for now.

"Yeah, that sounds like Beckett alright." Esposito laughed, he could see Beckett in a small view on the corner of the webcam behind Castle, minding her own business. "Yo, you getting uh, anything?"

"I don't kiss and tell."

Ryan came into the screen, flopping down into his seat next to Esposito, "Guess we'll have to catch the two of you then, huh?"

"You guys are distracting me." Beckett yelled out to the three of them, resting the folder onto the bed as she heads over behind Castle, her head peaking over his shoulder, "get to work. Castle and I have to go."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Esposito and Ryan lunged forward in their seats. "Beckett, no!"

She turned off the laptop in a heartbeat with a grin on her face.

Castle gasped a little, "Beckett!"

"They need to work, and so do we." She stood tall next to him with her arms crossed underneath her bosoms.

"There's nothing for me to work on!"

She grabbed her empty traveller's mug, which belonged to Castle, thank god for him packing those. Shaking the mug, it was empty. "You can work on getting me another cup of coffee, thanks."

"Fine... bossy." He took the mug, and he was out of the room.

Beckett was happy to have the room to herself for a bit. Finally, some peace. She hopped onto the bed, resting against the headboard and recovering the case folder.

* * *

><p>12:50 PM<p>

Beckett sat by the door with Castle sitting next to her. They were sitting in a waiting room of the therapist's office. Castle picked up a magazine, pretending to read. Beckett sat in quiet, she had never felt so uncomfortable before with Castle.

They're not married, and they haven't done anything besides a kiss.

Courtney Hillgrove walked out of her office after a couple left, waving them goodbyes. She turned to look at Beckett and Castle who just happened to be staring at her. "Rodgers?" She asked.

"Yeah, that's us." Castle, both standing up.

"Follow me, please." She gave the couple a warm smile, entering her office.

Castle and Beckett nervously entered the room. It was their first sex therapy session. They had no clue what they were going to say to this woman. Both wishing they had taken the time to outline their false lives in case any awkward questions might come up.

Shoot.

Looks like they'll have to go with the flow and see what happens.

Courtney greeted them, she was their new sex therapist. Luckily for the two, she may have looked like to be a serious book nerd, but she didn't recognize the author, Richard Castle. Her hand gestured over to the couch, inviting them to take their seats, "Please, take a seat." Courtney smiled warmly.

The duo sat down onto the sturdy black leather sofa. They both sat at a reasonable distance away from each other, but not too close either.

Courtney took her seat in a single comfortable chair across from the two. A rectangular glass table in between them with a box of Kleenex on top of it. Like hell they'll ever use it. The room was like an office, book shelves against the walls, a few paintings hanging on the wall, and a computer on a desk nearby.

"So," Courtney broke the ice, "Alexander and Katherine. Welcome. Please, call me Courtney. Before we begin, I'd like you two to introduce yourselves." She whiffed out a pen out of her jacket, opening the notebook in her lap, legs crossed and ready to attack.

The two spoke at once, giving each other the glare, but Castle decided to let her take the lead. He was interested to see where she would go with this one. Courtney caught that they were fighting to take the lead. An interesting start, she thought.

Beckett scowled at Castle then turned to the therapist, "I'm a..." She paused for a moment. Damn it, they never even discuss their occupations. The two weren't prepared. "I'm a... trainer, a fitness trainer." _Yeah, let's go with that one._ She had to be quick on her feet. "Alexander here works in construction." Hell, why not? He is a big, strong guy. "When we first met, he needed to build his muscles for construction work. He had some problems with some heavy lifting, and that's where I came in. We hit it off from the start..." Eyebrows rose as she spoke, words flowing out of her mouth, and like hell, she didn't know what the fuck she was saying.

Castle watched and listened to their story'. _Okay, so I'm the big, hulky construction guy. I like, I like._

"But you know, it was great at first. We danced around in our relationship for so long that we fell so hard for each other... and the sex, well. How do I put it in this way..."

His head was nodding, waiting for her to brag about their sex lives.

"Boring." She spoke, flat out blunt.

Castle's eyes widened. "W-what? Boring?"

"Sorry Alexander. It's time you know the truth." She held her head down, trying so hard not to look at Castle. "With you, I can't even have an orgasm... I always had to finish myself off whenever you drift off to sleep."

God, she was enjoying this. Making him look horrible... oh just imagine how much this would hurt his ego.

Then he let out a chortled laugh. "Honey, tell her you're kidding." Trying to save himself. Courtney stared at Castle with her eyebrows arching. She was taking this under serious consideration, the fact that Castle was in denial.

Beckett held her head down, fighting so hard to keep the grin off her face. Holding back whatever else she had to say; instead she lets the silence take over.

"Interesting." Courtney broke the silence once again. "And how long has this been going on, Katherine?"

"Too long." Beckett breezily shook her head, "You know, the first day we came in here to book for a week, I tried to run. I was too embarrassed to talk about it. But now, the way I look at this, he's trying to make it work and I appreciate that."

"He cares." Courtney replied with a slow nod.

"Yes, that he does." Trying her best to avoid Castle's startle. Oh, she would kill to look at Castle's priceless face, but she knew that if she took one good look at him, she would break out and laugh. Afraid of the fact that it would have blown their entire cover.

"Alexander, do you have something to say to this?" She asked Castle.

"You bet your ass I do." Castle wasn't happy with the way Beckett started them out in their first freaking sex therapy. He actually hoped for honesty, but she decided to play the game. If that's what she wants, he'll give it to her. "I have so much shit to say in this, Courtney." He said, looking at her. "In fact, my wife here, she never does anything in bed. She even doesn't do anything."

"Excuse me?" Beckett tried to interrupt Castle, but he went on again.

"She would always lie in bed, spread her legs, and expect me to work my magic. Every time, it's always the goddamn missionary position. She has no desire to spice up our sex life."

Beckett shut her eyes shut. _Shit. Now he's trying to blame me. _Raising her voice, "You never went down on me."

"Oh please. Every time I go near, you cringe like it's the most disgusting thing to do in the world." He argued.

She snapped her eyes open to look at him, scowling, "Actually, I do cringe when I go near your dick. Why do you think that every time I'm down there, I would always kiss my way back up instead of sucking you off?"

He licked his lips. This was simply pure role-playing for the therapist, putting on a hell of a show for Courtney. Scary, but fun, especially when you really get to argue with Beckett. "Kate. I'll have you know that I do keep myself well-groomed. It's not my fault you can't stand blowjobs." One by one, she was learning something new about Castle, not that she really needed to know, but hey. Nice to know.

Beckett leaned back on the couch, throwing a leg over another and crossed her arms. "I never had a problem with it until I _met _you, Alex."

_Ouch._ He scoffed, turning his head to look at Courtney. "She doesn't-"

Courtney watched the two, jotting down a few notes in a speed motion. She was having a hard time keeping up with the two. But she had to put a stop to it, she raised a hand, "Alexander, that's good for now." She took a huge sigh with widening eyes. "Excellent work you two." Clearing her throat. "Most couples don't open up in the first session. They were either too embarrassed to talk about it, or pretended that everything was fine. But you two deflowered the issue very nicely. Now that we got to the root of the problem. Clearly, it's the sex we're talking here. Over the next few sessions, we will get down to the main root of the problem in all this and figure it out in the end. Sounds good to you two?"

They both murmured in agreement, not looking at each other for one second. But then they thought... _Wait, what? Sex is the problem? What about their feelings? This was going into the wrong direction._

"Great. I will have you know that we do have a couple of exercises you will need to perform." Courtney watched the two of their eyes widening the moment she finished the sentence. "Oh, it's not so bad. It would involve some kissing exercises, body connection, and foreplay. Looking deep into each others eyes, that sort of stuff. It would definitely help grow your relationship." She smiled.

Beckett nearly growled at the thought. Okay, she knew this would be a little fun, whereas they would throw in a little argument or two. But exercises? What the hell has Castle gotten her into? She took a deep breath, "It would be outside of the session, right?" She just had to know.

"Partly, yes and no." She answered. "As a therapist, I will need to see how you two would interact with each other in those exercises. It will help me understand more clearly. The connection, both physically and emotionally."

Beckett sat up straight, "It's just that... I'm not into PDA's."

"Don't worry, darling. It's just me here. You won't even notice I'm around. Times like these where people would get uncomfortable, what I would do is I dim the lights, and sit someplace else. It's pretty effective."

Argh, Beckett thought. She wasn't going to win this one.

Meanwhile, Castle sat there with another stupid grin on his face. Okay, maybe... he thought this would be a bit too much for her. Forcing her into this stuff- oh god, he's not going to make it out of here alive. She's going to kill him. _Oh god_. That wiped the smirk off his face.

"Excellent. Now that we're in an agreement." Courtney took a quick look over her notes, "You guys will be staying for a week with a total of 6 sessions... Normally I wouldn't jump the gun, but seeing that you two won't be here for long, I'm afraid we'll have to get right down to business."

Beckett's eyes widened. _What?_

Castle's jaw opened slightly, trying to speak, but he couldn't.

All they could think of was... _What exercise?_

Courtney looked up to the two. They looked like they had seen a ghost, pale faces coming up, but Beckett was unquestionably blushing. "... Is there a problem?" She had never seen a couple act out like this. Very unusual... Are they truly married?

"N-no," Beckett stuttered, "What kind of exercise?"

"We're starting out with the basic staff, don't worry." She replied, "But first I'd like to ask a few more questions. When was the last time you two held hands?"

Fuck. They both thought. Thinking back long and hard. But Castle didn't have to do that. Despite the fact that he was in head over heels in love with her, remembering every intimate moments they shared in the past. He speaks up, "About two weeks back at my mother's show. She did a little one-woman play for a certain group of people. She held my hand then. That was it."

Good answer, Castle. Whew, Kate thought. That was a perfect example.

"Okay." Courtney scribbled in her notepad, "Now, when was the last time you kissed? And by kiss, I mean a make out session. Not a morning kiss or a good night kiss."

...

_Oh god, oh god, oh god._ Kate thought. How long has it been? Almost a year? The decoy kiss was _almost a year ago?_ No, that can't be right. She cleared her throat, "Uhm, maybe... about... 8 months ago?" She decided to lie her way out of this one. Castle shot a few glances over to Beckett then to Courtney, then back and forth. He didn't want to make her that _uncomfortable_.

Courtney continued to write, "Okay. When was the last time you had sex?"

...

They never had done it. How are they going to lie this one out of this one? Castle coughed in spite of trying to break the awkward silence. Beckett stared at him coldly. "...At least a year." He said.

"Okay. And one more question, how long have the two of you been married for?"

Castle tried to answer this one, "3 years?" But, Beckett stepped in, "2. Two whole years of marriage and it sucks."

"It does not suck." Castle argued.

Kate turned her head to look at Castle, catching his attention. Grinning cautiously, making sure the therapist was busy jotting down her notes as she does this. She was loving this, watching him suffer, along with the blackmail video she was going to be getting later.

Castle watched her enjoying every bits and pieces of this session. He was glad she was having fun, from the looks of it anyway, torturing him in any way, but he knew that wasn't going to last long. Narrowly his eyes at her. _Oh you just wait._

"Okay," Courtney uncrossed her legs to reach over and placed her notepad onto the table. She entwined her fingers together, "I'll be asking you guys a few more questions over the next few sessions. I'm afraid the time's almost up, I'd like to get down to the first exercise."

They both watched Courtney in silence, afraid of what kind of exercise it was going to be.

"Like I said, it's very basic. I'd like you two to practice something here. I have a little rule for you to follow, it's called BTT. Boundaries, trust, and togetherness. In this exercise, I want you to hold hands, and keep at it."

_Pfftt, easy. _Kate thought. She held his hand a few times before. This was nothing... thank god.

"But remember, if the two of you do get into a little... heated moment, which I doubt would happen, but I would like the two of you to remind yourselves of the BTT rule. You are not to cross the line until I say so otherwise over the next few sessions. It's part of the relationship progress, building up the tension both physically, and emotionally."

"Right... And how long do we have to hold hands? All day?" Kate asked.

"No," Courtney chuckled, "When you feel the time is right. Like, say... you're walking down the hallway side by side, hold your partner's hand. Whenever you feel that it's an intimate moment, hold hands. Don't force yourself to do so. Now I'd like to see the two of you hold hands. Again, it's for me to see how you guys react to each other."

Her hand was rested on top of her thigh, Castle took the initiative to move his hand over on top of Beckett's. Fingers thoroughly intertwined. Jolts of electricity ran up her spine the moment they touched, Beckett inhaled a sharp short breath, not once she met with his eyes. She kept her sights on Courtney, her breathing seems to be getting heavier. This time, it felt different. In the past, she had always been the one to make the move.

Castle felt the same, but he kept his expression quite still, unlike Beckett, he didn't know whether she felt awkward or downright uncomfortable. She didn't let go, instead, she was gripping harder. Not wanting to let go. Castle furrowing his eyebrows to look at their joined hands, their palms were easily sweating. It surprised him a little.

Beckett's cheeks were flushed.

Courtney watched the two in silence, studying their movements. She gently picked up her notepad, jotting down in words to describe their reactions. "Thank you. I'll see the two of you tomorrow, til then, practice this exercise, and we'll discuss." Courtney raised to stand on her feet.

Castle and Beckett stood as well, their hands quickly broke apart when Courtney held her hand out to shake their hands. "Thank you for coming in, I look forward to seeing you two in the next few sessions." Courtney shook Castle's hand first, he was shaking with his right hand, which was dry and clean. His left hand was slightly sweaty. As for Beckett, she quickly wiped her palm down her jeans when Castle went first, preparing herself, then shook Courtney's hand.

_Embarrassing. One touch and I sweat. _Kate smiled, nodding her head to Courtney. She didn't know what to say to her, she just left. Hell, she was in love with the guy. As exciting as that touch was, she was afraid of what's in store for them. Castle murmured a few words to Courtney before following Kate out of their session.

After their session, Beckett wasn't going to talk to Castle about what happened in there. She wasn't going to deny anything, but she didn't want to have the talk. They were heading back to their rooms, just so happened to run into the Harts along the way.

Castle had thought about asking Beckett if they could talk, but he didn't want to push it. Instead, he decided to wait for the next few sessions and see how things unfold from there on. Castle noticed Veronica and Sebastian coming their way. "Hey guys, you know, if you wanted to take the bottle, all you had to do was to ask."

Veronica knew they were busted one way or another. She frowned, "I'm sorry, Alexander... My husband and I decided to head back, we got a little caught up into the moment."

Sebastian stared at the two, "Come on, honey. We'll be late for our appointment." He didn't want to speak with the two, not a particularly friendly guy.

Beckett didn't want to speak to them either, but it was part of the job, that is if they certainly are the ones they're looking for. "Hey. I heard something in a passing... A couple who were here before, they were murdered at their homes. What were their names?" Beckett turned to Castle.

"_Oh, uhm. Alicia and Robert Adagio." Castle finished the sentence for Beckett._

"What?" Veronica gasped, "I-I knew them for a little while. They were one of our good friends here." Not so much for Sebastian but he sided with her.

"How did you know?" Sebastian asked.

Thank god, a solid suspect, Beckett thought. "We live close by, it was on the local newspaper." Beckett figured that might have been the best way to break it out.

"How did you know they used to come through here then?" Sebastian wasn't a dumb guy. He was catching on fast.

Castle decided to put his creativity writer mind to beneficial use, he had to back her up to stay undercover, "Through Marcy. She's a friend of ours, she knew Alicia for a long time. Katherine here does a bit of a marathon, Marcy just so happened to be connected. Small world, huh? It's a shame they died."

"Yeah, it's a shame." Veronica took a deep sigh, "They were here for a week. Such nice people, right hun?"

Sebastian sneered his eyes at the two, "...right. Come on, babe. We're running late."

"Hey, uh. Drinks?" Castle asked.

"Not tonight, Alex." Sebastian hastily interrupted Veronica before she agreed to it, "We have some plans. Maybe some other time. Take care." Taking Veronica's hand to pull her away, Veronica waved a quick goodbye to the two.

"That guy is rude." Castle scoffed.

"Yeah, well. I think we're on the right track here, Castle. She knows the victims." Beckett stood by Castle, adjusting her head to look at him.

But another blonde woman came in between them, she walked right through Beckett, shoulders nudging against hers, "Sorry." What a total bitch. She flipped her hair behind, head tossed over her shoulder to give Castle a marvellous, seductive eye-sex with a smile, flashing her pearl teeth. Walking away like a boss.

_Oh god, thank you in advanced for making Beckett jealous._ Castle was smirking, looking back to Beckett after what had just happened.

Beckett grasped his arm, staring at the blonde walking away down the hallway. "Castle."

"It's okay to be jealous."

"Castle!" She slapped his arm next, he responded with an 'ow', she continues to speak, "Blonde, bitchy, and she's a staff." She caught the word 'STAFF' in bold letters on the back of her shirt. Obviously Castle wasn't looking at that... It's a good thing Beckett noticed, right?

"Want me to go after her then? Catch her name?"

"No." Beckett didn't want him to be near her either. Hell, what the hell is wrong with her? Normally she wouldn't try and stop him from chasing blonde bimbos, but she was determined to fight for him. _Huh._ She grinds her teeth, "I'll contact Arthur and the boys. Let's go back, it's almost 2:20," she said after looking at her father's watch. "Maybe Lanie will have something new for us."

* * *

><p>Back in their rooms, Beckett logged onto the precinct system immediately. Castle pulled up a chair next to her. She grabbed her cell to dial Lanie. "Hey." Lanie picked up on the other line, "Any news?"<p>

"Hey girl, wasn't expecting you to call yet. I figured you wouldn't be free til 5... And, oh yeah, I got news alright. We managed to match the clothing fibre to a specific jacket. It's a 22" brown Mink asymmetric jacket, basically, it's a faux fur jacket. That should be enough for you to track down someone wearing it."

"Oh great. Like someone is ever going to wear one of those indoors. Thanks Lanie, it's very helpful though. Any other news?"

"Yes..." Lanie paused, "I'm waiting to hear something new from you, girl. How did your first session go?"

"Lanie, not now... Castle's next to me." Beckett had to say it otherwise if Lanie kept on pushing, she might have said something out of hand.

Castle grinned, he knew that Lanie would be asking. Oh, it's so obvious. He leaned over to grab her cell phone, "Hey Lanie- APPLES, APPLES!" Beckett pinched his ear, grabbing her cell phone back, "Sorry, Castle was being immature. I'll call up the boys, thanks."

Lanie was laughing a little on the other line, "Keep me posted! Go easy on the writer boy."

Castle was still whining in pain, Beckett hadn't let go of his ear yet, that is until she finally hung up, letting go. He rubbed his ear, "I wasn't going to say anything."

"Uh, huh." Beckett stared at the laptop monitor, pulling up Google to see what the jacket would look like. Unfamiliar with the style, she needed to look at an exact photograph to make sure. Once she saw it, she turned to look at Castle, "Lanie said the clothing fibre came from this exact jacket. The third suspect must have been wearing it when she was in an intimate moment with the two."

"And we're supposed to be find someone wearing that? Oh come on. That's like a winter jacket!"

"... Not unless you wear it outside at night. It's definitely a light weight type of jacket. Do you fancy accompanying me tonight for dinner?" Beckett smirked.

Castle, rubbing his ear, "I don't think I really have a choice. Consider it a date."

"It's not a date." She rolled her eyes.

"So... that means hand holding is out of the question?"

"Way out there, Castle. Do you really expect me to listen to Courtney? Why are we even taking it in the first place?" Figuring they have time to kill, it was time to thoroughly argue with him on the topic.

"Because she might have been our suspect?" Courtney wasn't a blonde, a dark brunette. "Now that we seen her, she isn't our suspect... and the sessions are already paid for. Are you chickening out, Detective Beckett?" He wiggles his eyebrows.

Okay, maybe not the kind of argument she was expecting from Castle. She took a deep sigh, "I gotta call the boys for any new leads." She picks up her phone to dial Esposito.

Castle took her phone, "Allow me." He missed Esposito and Ryan. Castle finished the deed by dialling, held up the phone to his ear and waited for Esposito pick up.

"Hey boss." Esposito answered on the other line.

"Hey Esposito, miss me?" Castle wiggles his eyebrows towards Beckett again.

"Yeah bro, me and my boy here, things are a little dull around here. Did you and Beckett shack up yet?"

"No, but you know, we did sleep together last night. Remember? A morning slap?" Castle wasn't going to lie, but Esposito would be getting the wrong idea. He saw that Beckett was about to jump from her seat, quickly lunged forward off his seat and held the phone up high in the air. "Stop trying to interrupt our bromance, Beckett!"

Beckett was furious. She didn't want the boys to know anything, ANYTHING at all about what they're doing here. It was unnecessary. She tried to jump but failed miserably, Castle's arm in additional to his height was too damn tall for Beckett to reach. She tried to poke hard in his ribs, hoping he would be ticklish, but he wasn't.

Castle was smirking, having way too much fun with this. The two can hear distinctive noises coming from Beckett's phone, but couldn't make out what Esposito was saying.

She growled in defeat, slapping her hands onto her thighs. "Castle!"

Castle ignored her, turning and his back facing her. He raised the phone back down to his ear, "Hey, I'm here. Yeah, sorry about that. No, no. It's just Beckett. Oh, you thought you heard sexual moans? You flatter me."

Beckett stared at Castle's back, the back of his hair, the back of his pants ... _That ass_. No, Kate. Focus. She lunged forward, jumping onto his back with her legs wrapped around his hipbones, arms thrown around his shoulders, "CASTLE." Her head resting on top of his shoulder, her face was practically next to his.

Castle yelped, tossing his arm straight ahead with the phone in hand, managing to steer it away from her. "What are you doing!"

"Hand me the phone!" Her arm desperately reaching for it on top of Castle's straightened arm.

"But I want to talk to honey-milk!"

"Case... comes... first." She adjusted her head, eyes glancing down at his ear. A perfect target. She leaned over, biting down onto his earlobe.

"Ow!" He whined in pain, "Applesappplesapples!" His safe word came out together in one breath, retreating the phone back to himself, giving in.

Her teeth released from the tender, flushing red earlobe, she grabbed the phone and finally came back down onto her feet. "Beckett here." She's won this round. "Do we have any new leads? ... No, we weren't doing anything... Ryan! No!"

Castle was laughing, figures Ryan would be asking her all sorts of uncomfortable questions.

Ryan came onto the line with Esposito long before Beckett attacked Castle. They put Castle on speakerphone at the precinct, in fact, they had no idea what was going on aside from safe words and painful moans, which clearly sounded a lot like sex. Clearly got the wrong idea.

"Hey... Do you think they're...?" Ryan asked Esposito.

"Nah. Too soon." Esposito smirked, "Hey boss. We heard about the jacket from Lanie, we're cross-checking the financial records for jacket against people's records from the retreat. Including the staffs, we figured it might worth the try."

"Great. Keep me posted." A pause, "Oh. If you ever so mention anything to Lanie, I will personally make your lives miserable." And with that, she hung up. Looking over to Castle, "Oh, sorry. You didn't get a chance to talk to honey-milk." Grinning.

"You're so rough, Detective." Castle walked over to her, his lips meeting with her ear, "Keep up with it, karma will come back and bite."

"Is a threat, Castle?" She stepped back away from him. Her hands resting on her hips, daring him to answer.

"...I'll get us some coffee... peace offering?" He laughed weakly.

"Sure, Castle. For now."

* * *

><p>Time flew by, dinner came, and neither of them could find anyone in the specific jacket. Esposito and Ryan couldn't find anything in the records. They specifically told Beckett that it might have been bought from a street vendor. It was a dead end.<p>

Beckett wasn't too happy with it. Also, the fact that now she was back to square one, now having to deal with Veronica. And that blonde bitchy staff, she couldn't find her photograph in the database, which was weird. She went over the list several times, nothing. She could have sworn she remembers the face as Castle did too.

"Well that was a bust." Castle was yawning, nearing his bedtime. He couldn't wait for this day to be over with... and have another session.

Another session with Beckett. Another argument? More exercises... The more he thought about it, the more turned on he gets. He truly wonders what was going to happen for them.

"I'm going to call it a night." Beckett turned off the laptop. Castle was right, today was a bust. She needed fresh eyes for tomorrow. Esposito and Ryan did their best at the precinct while Gates were up their asses on the case. She got up from the chair to her drawer, taking out her pyjamas, "I'll be quick."

"I'll change out here real quick. Knock before you come out, that is unless you fancy seeing me." He winked.

Beckett scoffed. She never got tired of his flirts. They were endless, but she had gotten used to it. Once in a while, she would assuredly be flattered, sometimes she'd tease back. "I'll knock."

After a quick change up, Beckett did knock. Castle went into the bathroom to brush his teeth, leaving the door wide open. Sitting on her side of the bed, lotion in hand and squirting a handful into the palm of her hand. Gently spread the lotion on her toned legs, grazing her hands up and down in a delicately slow motion.

Castle leaned his body forward closer to the mirror while brushing his teeth, checking out his face. _You are handsome, Richard. You used to be a playboy, and yet, you can't even man up to Beckett- ... whoa._ At an angle Castle was at, he could see the room in a full view with Beckett on the bed, rubbing the lotion all over her legs. She even came close to her thighs, taking the time to touch... every... single... spot. His toothbrush hanging on the corner of his mouth, staring like a creep.

Beckett didn't seem to notice Castle at all while she was doing this. She continued until she was done, tossing the bottle of lotion on top of her luggage on the floor. She wiped her hands clean, her eyes glancing upwards to look over to the bathroom. _Why the hell is Castle taking so long... oh._ She caught his gaze.

He jumped in a haste, pretending to be still brushing his teeth but near done.

Her mouth curved into a mild grin. It didn't bother her that Castle was watching her. A few years back, she thought it was creepy and downright annoying as hell. But now, it was flattering to know.

By the time Castle was done, he had walked out of the bathroom towards his side of bed, slipping underneath the blanket on the side. Quickly fixing the pillows between them. It didn't do justice this morning, but Castle had no idea what happened anyway, he wanted to make sure everything was fixed, to show Beckett he's capable of controlling himself. "Good night."

"Night Castle."


	5. Chapter 5

**Sex Therapy**

**A/N: Things are about to get a little steamy... oh wait, that's always been in my imagination. Sorry ;) enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Castle.**

* * *

><p>By morning, the tables have turned. Castle woke up first, unaware of the position he was in with Beckett for a split second. He shifted his body, only to find that there was a slight pressure around his waist. Fluttering his eyelids to wake up, looking down to see it was Beckett's arm around his waist.<p>

Oh but he wasn't spooning her nor facing her. In fact, she was spooning him. Of course, she always have to take the lead. Richard laughed devilishly quietly at the thought of that in his head. It's what Beckett would do after all.

He took the time to savour the warmth of her hand resting on his clothed stomach. Castle carefully pivoted his head to look at Beckett, she was sleeping soundly. Hell, he didn't want to wake her, not just yet.

Beckett was slowly waking up a few minutes later. A slight chill ran over her body, the blankets were kicked away during the middle of the night. But the warmth she felt was in front of her, using her arm to tug his body closer, her forehead resting on Castle's back. A heavy sigh of relief against Castle's back.

Castle was taken by surprise in this new position. Her hand wasn't resting tight on his stomach until now. The pressure increased and snaking dangerously lower down his abdomen. _Oh god, she must have thought I'm a pillow... don't go there..._ _Oh, who am I kidding? Go lower, go lower._

"...Castle." She woke up the minute she felt his stomach twitching, feeling awkward by their position.

That was just Castle's blood rushing down fiercely fast to his south pole. "...Hi." Castle felt awkward as well, he didn't know how this would end.

Beckett retreated her hand away from his body, "Sorry... I didn't mean to ..." Beckett took a long pause, her eyes scanning the bed, "W-where are the pillows?"

Castle laughed, rolling his body over to face Beckett. He didn't realize how close they were, he seriously thought she would have backed up a little, but he decided to respect her space by moving back a little. "Guess our bodies hated the pillows and preferred the real thing. Now tell me, I understand your desire to lead at work, but did you really have to take over in bed as well?"

She rolled her eyes, "Good morning to you too, Castle." Beckett sat up straight, running her hands through her hair. "Castle. We need to figure out what to do today. I feel like we aren't trying hard enough."

"Let's try and figure out the mysterious woman then." Castle propped up onto his elbow, sitting his upper torso up, scratching the back of his head. "Would you be interested in hearing my dumb theory?"

"Enlighten me, Castle." She scooted over to the edge of the bed, stood, stretched, then headed to the bathroom to start brushing her morning breath away.

Castle was still in bed, "She could be portraying as a staff to get around here. I mean, did you see the way she looked at me? That was unprofessional of her."

"Nu-huh." Beckett shook her head, she was leaning against the door frame of the bathroom, looking at Castle as she brushes her teeth. "Was I supposed to?"

Damn it. She wasn't going to fall for that whole I'm not jealous trap. "Right, so. Aside from Veronica, she seemed like she was trying to break up our marriages. The way she walked right in between us and giving you the cold shoulder, but she smiled at me. She was a blonde too!"

"Theory, Castle."

"Anyways, since she isn't in the database, we can safely assume she's an outsider. I'm thinking along maybe..." He gasped, "Undercover CIA agent."

Beckett groaned, taking the toothbrush out of her mouth, "Seriously? And here I thought you were actually going to come up with a decent story."

"I got nothing. It's so weird... Our database list is up to date, right?" Castle shuffled off the bed, walking over to the bathroom. Beckett didn't mind him coming in, after all, he does need to brush his teeth.

"Yeah, fairly certain. I can ask Arthur, but we don't have an actual photograph. It's going to be hard to describe her since she looks like any other blonde type of girl." Beckett spits into the sink.

Castle picked up his toothbrush, filling it with a strip of toothpaste, "Tricky... Unless I run into her again. Let's hope that happens, then I'll use my charms."

She rinsed her teeth and patted her mouth with a small towel nearby the sink. "I hope so, in the meantime, we'll deal with the Harts and Arthur."

"Don't forget our session." Castle mumbled through the strokes of bristle brushing against his teeth.

She almost groaned at that. The sex therapy session was getting in the way of her train of thoughts. She wanted to focus on the case, and deal with those thoughts later. Surprised that she actually dealt with cases in a professional manner with Castle around her for 4 years. Why now? Maybe it was because they're constantly working at the precinct, getting interrupted every minute. It was easy to work then. "Great. Can't wait." She smiled with a hint of sarcasm and rolling her eyes.

* * *

><p>Beckett personally called Arthur on her cell phone. He agreed to come down to their room at around 3 PM. Beckett tried to have Arthur come down earlier than 3, but unfortunately he wouldn't be available until 1:30 ish. Their session was conflicted with the time. Beckett saw the opportunity to attempt an escape out of the session, but Arthur knew of their sessions, he insisted the two to take the session, after all they were paid for. Arthur wasn't a dumb man, he knew they were undercover, but they sure as hell don't hide it exceptionally well.<p>

Their next session, as usual, took place at 1 PM. Castle and Beckett had their breakfast, their daily coffee fix, and running into Mary and her husband. Richard came close to the idea of slapping the man, but the husband didn't seem to care about his looks nor his ego when he saw Castle again. They carried on for a small conversation, after all they are friendly people.

Courtney welcomed the two back in her private office. "Hello Katherine and Alexander. Did you have a pleasant day yesterday?"

They sat next to each other at a fair distance. Beckett shrugged her shoulders, "It was okay, wasn't exciting."

"Yeah, it was fine for me as well. Nothing hectic going on either." Castle responded.

"That's alright. We all have one of those days." Courtney settled down in her chair, getting comfortable. She opens up her binder, and her usual notepad was in it. "How did our little exercise go yesterday?"

"Fine." Beckett never held hands with Richard after their little interaction during the session. She wasn't into PDA after all, and Castle didn't care much for holding hands. "There wasn't any intimate moment, if that's what you're implying."

Castle thought it was better to play along with Beckett for now. From the looks of it, she didn't seem to be in the mood to play around for fun. They did have enough after all, it was almost time to act serious... Just almost. "Yeah, there wasn't much of an emotional contact between the two of us."

Courtney thought this was all a little too fishy, after all, she did see how Beckett reacted to their intimate interaction in yesterday's session. Courtney was no fool, she was an expert, and she saw it. Luckily for the two, Courtney saw this as an act of embarrassment, it was either that or, denial. "Okay. Is there anything else you would like to share? Katherine? Alexander?"

They both shook their head in unison, Beckett, "Nope..."

Castle, "Nothing."

"Huh... Okay." Courtney puts her pen down and intertwined her fingers together, "Sorry if I seem to be way off topic here but, what happened? You guys can tell me anything. That's why I'm entitled to doctor-patient confidential."

"What makes you say that?" Castle asked.

"Oh, you know," Courtney gently shook her shoulders and leaning back in her seat, "Yesterday, the two of you were at each others throat. Today, it's a completely different scenario."

"Still doesn't change the fact that I can't reach an orgasm with Alexander. Guess I'm just... a little out of it today."

"Kate, I thought we weren't going to get back into that topic again." Castle was intrigued to pick a fight with her.

"Oh come on, Alex. She's our sex therapist! Isn't that why we're here for? To work on our sex issue?"

_Except that we never even have sex!_ Castle thought, he admitted defeat for now, turning to Courtney with a guilty smile. "We're back?"

Courtney knew this was no laughing matter. She appreciates the sense of humour from Castle, but this was a serious job for her. Being entirely professional about it, she puts on a minor smile. "I'll admit... I can't decide whether to give you today's exercise or tomorrow's exercise."

"Is there a difference?" Castle asked.

"Oh, yes. A huge difference, Alexander. I am thinking of going with tomorrow's exercise, switching it up for now. I do believe that, judging from the two of you, you will need this one."

"What is it?" Beckett was worried that they might have jumped the gun a little too soon here. She didn't like the idea that Courtney switched it up.

"As I recalled, the last time you two kissed was about..." Courtney looked down in her notes, reading yesterday's session notes, "8 months ago?"

"Right..." Beckett's heart was escalating. Something to do with kiss? A kiss? Kissing exercise? Come on Beckett, you liked it, no shame in doing it again.

"Since then, there hasn't been that type of connection?"

"Nope." Castle shook his head once.

"Alright. I'd like the two of you to explain in words how you feel about the last kiss you shared, starting with you Katherine, if you don't mind."

Oh this is going to be good, Castle thought. Too good... Wait. What if she said I'm a lousy kisser? Oh to the hell with this therapy shit. I'm dropping out if she's going to whack the bush.

Beckett could lie her way out of this one, if she wants to. She was given the chance to go first, and she'll take it. Beckett wasn't sure how to start it out, so instead of expressing right away, she would recite the kiss in words. "I... uh. We were walking down the alley, I reached for my pocket..." Taking a long pause.

"Go on." Courtney motivated Beckett to continue, it was just the push she needed.

"I grabbed her wrist." Castle finished the sentence for her, "Even though we hadn't been together for so long, I needed to feel. So I held her cheek, and kissed her. I needed to feel if there was anything."

Courtney wasn't going to stop Castle from expressing himself, Beckett just so happened got lost into the spur of the moment. The moment the kiss replayed in her head, she got lost her train of thoughts and played out the scene. Easily turned on from his actions in mind.

Then finally, Beckett stepped in to stop Castle from speaking anymore, "Yeah, Ca-Alexander, kissed me. It was a soft kiss."

"Then I backed away." Castle was just finishing off her sentences as usual.

"I came forward to kiss him again." She wasn't looking at Castle during the whole storytelling progress. Their eyes stayed on Courtney's. Courtney was reciting the scene in her head, imagining them, word by word.

"That was amazing." Castle ended the storytelling. "I'm not sure what happened after that. We were into it, and then we lost ourselves again." Of course not, they had to save the boys from Lockwood. Only Courtney can't know that.

"You didn't answer my question, Katherine. How did you feel then?" Courtney knew Castle's feelings. She 100% certain that she didn't need to ask him.

"Like he said. It was amazing." Beckett lets out a short laugh.

"You're describing the kiss in a word, Katherine. I'm asking how did you feel during that time. Did you feel pressured? Did you feel right? Wrong?"

"I'd rather not talk about my feelings, Courtney." Beckett was starting to feel uncomfortable. She wasn't ready to spill her guts out right here, in front of Courtney, and Castle. This is just all off timing. Why the hell does she want to declare her love for the guy in front of a freaking sex therapist? It didn't feel right. Burke was a different therapist, he helped her deal with these issues directly.

"Alright, fine-"

Castle interrupted Courtney, "Why not?" He wasn't going to let Courtney give in easily.

"Alexander, I don't recommend pressuring Katherine."

"Not yet, Alex." Beckett spoke, staring at him with that total scared facial expression. The one he remembered where he came into her loft that one day, having that argument where he challenged her to tell Castle what they were. _'First, we kissed, we don't talk about it. Then we nearly froze to death in each others arms, we don't talk about it.'_

"I'd very much like to hear what you have to say in all this, Kate." Castle waited too long for her, he wasn't going to stop now, but he had given her so many opportunities to speak for herself, and yet, she never finds the time to do so. Which, frankly, pisses him off.

She wasn't ready to talk about it, not just yet.

Fuck, Castle... Let it go for now, please. She sucked her bottom lip in between her teeth, "Castle, stop."

Castle? Courtney questioned in her head.

"Fine, Kate." He wanted to tell her more, he wanted to pressure her more, even though he wasn't the type of guy to cross the line and make her feel uncomfortable. But it's his feelings she's fucking with here. He was going to have to take this conversation someplace else later. Castle chose his words carefully. One little wrong thing, Beckett can easily walk out of this retreat and drive back home. No, she wouldn't do that, she's focusing on the case. Castle would be the one to drive out of here instead.

Courtney had no idea what was happening between the two of them. She did know that switching the exercises was the right choice, it may not have looked like to be the right choice but she knew that once the exercise was done, she will have a far better idea of tomorrow's exercise.

"Katherine, Alexander... I'm not quite sure what is going on here, yet. But I still recommend going full throttle with today's exercise. Whether you may like it or not, I'm going to persuade the two of you into it." Courtney counted down in her head, waiting for one of them to attack her... 3... 2... 1...

"Just exactly what the hell are we supposed to do in this exercise, Courtney?" Kate was aggressive. Hell, she doesn't mean to lash out on the therapist like that. She wasn't Burke. Burke knew everything and this one doesn't.

Courtney had it coming, but she was calm about it. "It's similar to yesterday's exercise, with the hand holding, today... The two of you will have to practice kissing. It's part of the tension build up, like I said. Now, I know the two of you won't like it, but as your therapist, I strictly advise you guys do it."

"Kiss? Seriously? What kind of sex therapist are you? Did you not just hear what we said earlier? I specifically preferred not to t-"

"Talk about it, yes. I know Katherine. This isn't a discussion, this is a physical thing." Courtney wasn't going to get her ass over there, mush their heads together and hope to god they kiss. She wasn't going to force them into it either. Instead, Courtney was trying to get Katherine to see her point of view. "Passionate kissing is the key to keeping the spark alive in married sex life because kissing is the barometer of the state of your sexual relationship. Good sex in marriage doesn't just happen, but you can make sex great by being deliberate about it. Enjoy a lifetime of growing acceptance of each other and pursue pleasure with a passion."

Castle watched the two of them in a slight heated argument. He wasn't sure whether he was supposed to feel offended by Kate's words, or upset by the fact that she doesn't want to kiss him. There's only one way to find out.

She took a deep sigh, Kate understood what she was saying, but she wasn't actually married to Castle, making this seem pointless. "I'm not a fan of PDA."

"Well then, I'll dim the lights."

"No." Beckett refused.

"Fine." Courtney gave up.

"Can we please move on-" Kate couldn't finish her sentence, by then, Castle surprised her with his hands grasped onto her cheeks, turning Beckett's head and his lips crashing down into her lips.

She was stunned.

Castle needed to know, he just had to.

Kate's heartbeat skyrocketed in a second, she refused to return the kiss for a second but soon gave in, pushing her tongue forcefully into his mouth. Her body got lost into the kiss, she pivoted her torso, so she was one-quarter facing him and her hands resting on Castle's arms for support. Slowly, Kate brought her knee onto the couch, resting it in between Castle's thigh and the couch. She snaked her hands towards his shoulders as she glided on top of his lap, nearly straddling him, her free foot tiptoeing on the ground.

Castle's tongue found its way into Kate's mouth as she parted her lips for an open invitation, roughly smothering her lips with great friction. Removing his hands from her cheeks to glide them towards her hips, and resting them there.

The kiss was fiery hot, passionate and full of lust. It didn't last long enough as much as Kate would like, Castle broke away from the kiss first. Kate rested her forehead against his, trying to catch her breathing in a steady rhythm. She cupped his face in her palms, her thumbs stroking his cheekbones.

She was speechless.

He opened up his eyes halfway through, watching Kate.

Kate was eyeing his chest heaving for a few seconds, soon meeting with his gaze. She slowly lowered her lips, trying to capture his lips again with her eyes closing.

Castle jerked his head back away, studying Kate's movements.

Kate felt the sudden retreat from Castle with her hands being tugged away with a force, she opened her heavy eyes, soft erratic pants through her swollen lips, eyes meeting with his again.

That was Castle's approval right there when she tried to kiss him. He just knew, and boy, he was fucking glad to have gathered up the courage to kiss her. Damn well worth the bold move.

Courtney sat back in her couch as she watched the two went into a heated session. It was short but intensely entertaining. This was all clearly becoming too fishy for Courtney. After all, they were acting like they had never been kissed before, even though they did, it looked too much like their damn first kiss. She sat in silence.

Kate felt somewhat embarrassed that she had made a crucial move in front of the therapist, she nearly straddled in his lap. She pushed herself away from Castle, turning her gaze away from his. Now her breathing was more steadier.

Castle wanted to chuckle to break the silence, but he didn't. He wanted to say something, but he didn't. Instead, he was watching Kate moving away, lost in her own thoughts. Curious of what she was thinking about.

Eventually, the silence had to be broken. Courtney spoke up that startled the two to turn their attention to Courtney, "Boundaries, trust, and togetherness." She smiled faintly, "Today's exercise for the day, practice kissing, but do not cross the BTT rule."

Like hell they'll practice. Kate was afraid that once she would get into it, she would go all the way.

Castle would too, but he wouldn't. He respects her too much to cross that line, and like hell he's going to when he honestly doesn't know how she feels for him. That kiss might have been a slight approval for how she feels for him, it still wasn't enough. He needed to hear her say it in her own words.

Courtney heard nothing from the two. Kate was still panting quietly. Courtney could tell she was surprised by the kiss, which she thought was odd for a married couple. Passing it off as a "it's been so long" excuse. "That's it for today's session."

Jeez, an hour certainly does go by fast.

"Tomorrow will be a different session. Until then, keep in mind for the BTT rule."

Beckett raised herself from the couch, bowing her head once as a farewell before leaving the room. Castle stood, following her quietly on the way out.

Castle wanted to apologize for surprising her like that, but the kiss, he didn't regret it for one bit. Following her in silence.

Beckett was quiet along the way back to their room.

Getting closer to their room, Castle stopped Beckett from entering, "Hey, I'm going to take a walk around. You want some coffee? I'll bring some back."

"I'd like that." Smiling, "Thanks, Castle."

* * *

><p>He needed to be away from Beckett for a moment, he didn't want to deal with her silence, and awkwardness. Castle needed time to think, what he should do next, what not to do next... Martha was right. It's not complicated when Castle seems to think so. All he had to do was to open up his damn mouth, open up to Beckett, and go from there. Why is it so hard to do it? Castle wasn't a shy man when he first met Beckett, a few flirtation might have spiced up their relationship over the years, but it's not going to do justice now.<p>

Castle was nearing the buffet, seeing that it was closed until tomorrow night. "Damn it... Tomorrow night?" He muttered. "Hey," he caught a servant coming out of the buffet with several plates in a tray bin.

"Yes?"

"Why does it say tomorrow night?"

"Oh, we will be dining outside, sir. Tonight's a feast. There will be dancing, the bar will be open, all the more fun for couples to enjoy." The servant smiled.

"That does sound like a good time. What time does it start?"

"The food won't be ready until 7. Plenty of time to kill, sir. You should find it in the information binder in your room."

"Thanks." Castle gave a friendly pat on the man's shoulder. "Feast, huh..."

"Alexander!"

Castle turned to the direction he heard his name being called out. It was Veronica, she was waving at him, alone. "Hey, what are you doing?"

"I'm going out for a quick smoke, would you like to join me?" She asked, taking out a box of cigarettes from the pocket of her jacket.

"I don't smoke, but I can keep you company." Why not, he thought, might as well make himself useful for the case.

"Thanks, hun." She grinned. Walking side by side towards the lobby and out to the front door. A guard stood by the front door, he was in his chair, a small hand wave to Veronica. "This man," Veronica rubbed the top of his shiny bald head, "he's such a sweetie. I hate the little smoking area in the backyard, at the far end, it's full of depressing people, it's god-awful."

Castle laughed, shaking the guard's hand to greet him. "I'm not surprised. Place like this, you'd need a smoke break."

"Oh, for sure." She lit up the cigarette in her mouth, inhaling the smoke then blowing it out in one breath. "So, what are you doing, walking around without your wife, Alex?"

"Needed some time to think." Castle slipped both hands in his pockets, sun blinding his eyes, squinting at the view in front of the retreat place.

"Don't we all?" She puffed another smoke, "Listen, don't worry about it, tonight's a feast. It's fantastic."

Castle gave his attention to Veronica, "Other than dancing and a bar, what's fantastic?"

"It's a feast! Eat all you want buffet, get drunk, great music... It's a sinners night. You see, this thing tonight gives couples a chance to let loose, remind themselves how to have fun again."

"That does actually sound pretty good."

"I'll see you tonight?" She winked at him, "I'll save a dance for you, Alexander."

_Beckett wouldn't like that._ "Sure, I'll bring Kate, thanks Veronica."

Beckett was in the lobby, she walked up to the receptionist with a business card in hand. Arthur wasn't answering her on the cell phone, she wanted to get more information regarding the blonde staff they ran into earlier. "Hey," she spoke to the woman. She was busy on the phone, giving Beckett a finger to shush her. Jeez, if only she has her badge, she wouldn't put up with her shit.

"Yeah," the woman twirling her finger around the phone cord, "No way. Are you joking?"

She took a deep sigh, good god, it's a girlfriend type of call. Beckett rested an arm on top of the desk, glancing at everything surrounding her, catching Castle talking to a blonde woman outside of the gigantic lobby doors. Spur of jealously boiling in her stomach, "...What the."

Castle opened the door, "Ladies first." Veronica stepped into the lobby, giggling. She gently placed a hand onto Castle's chest, getting the feel of his broad chest underneath the shirt, "I'll see you later." Veronica winked at him one last time before disappearing off into the hallway.

Kate left the receptionist desk alone, ignoring the woman who was finished with her phone call, she tried to call out to Beckett, but her main focus on hand was directly to Castle. Lucky for Veronica, she didn't see Beckett coming out in a rage, though Beckett did watched her before she disappeared.. "Hey Castle." She called out to Castle. "There you are, I was wondering what happened to the coffee." She lied.

Castle, startled by Kate, "Hey... Sorry, I ran into Veronica... What are you doing here? Stalking me, detective?" Smiling, feeling flattered.

"Funny, no." Beckett crossed her arms, "I thought you would be capable of getting some evidence in your hands."

"...What do you mean by that?"

"Castle!" She opened up her arms wide, "She's wearing the brown mink jacket!"

"What?" Castle paused for a moment, "... The jacket? Oh... OH!" His eyes widened, "The jacket!" His eyes darting out to the hallway she disappeared into, she was gone, and Castle was too late.

Beckett groaned, "Now we can rule out the staff, that is until we get our hands on some samples. I got to call it in, we'll have the warrant drawn up for Veronica."

"Wait!" Castle exclaimed, "Wait, wait, wait... Our suspect isn't a flight risk, that we know of, the warrant won't come in for at least a good couple hours."

"Your point being?"

"...There's this feast tonight, I really want to go." Castle was playing the puppy face.

"And we'll go," Kate gave him what he wanted, "But, warrant or no warrant... I'm going to grab a quick sample in case."

"In case of what?" Castle asked.

"She's a woman, Castle. We clean out our closet now and then. Anything could happen, something could easily spill onto her jacket, and the next thing we know she's tossing it out in the garbage."

"What are the chances of that happening?" He wanted to prolong this retreat, after all, this was all getting a little too quick for it to end.

"I'm saying, it's a possibility. Could we at least grab some samples? I promise, I'll have the boys pick it up first thing in the morning."

"Fine." At least Castle was thankful Beckett gave him one more night to have fun.

* * *

><p>Beckett went back to the receptionist desk, asked for Arthur's whereabouts. Arthur was busy in a meeting with some clients, but he came around to their room by 4 PM.<p>

By the time Arthur came to the room at 4, she had asked Arthur to gather Veronica Hart's room number, and any additional information that would be helpful for the case. She mentioned that she was now a viable suspect, that is until the lab would confirm the jacket is a match.

Arthur agreed to it in terms of full cooperation, mentioned one of his staff would bring the envelope by their room a bit later.

* * *

><p><strong>4:50 PM<strong>

There was a knock on the door, Beckett opened the door, there was a male staff holding out the envelope to Beckett. "Thanks." Beckett took the envelope, she closed the door, opening the yellow string sealed envelope. "Castle, I got it."

"The room number?"

"Yes, and their card key too. I've got a plan." Beckett smirked, holding up the key card in between two fingers, wiggling it, "We're going deep undercover."

"Detective Beckett, I had no idea this sort of thing excites you." Castle grinning, "...So, what's the plan?"

* * *

><p><strong>5:40 PM<strong>

"This plan blows." Castle mumbled, standing outside of Hart's room door. Beckett took advantage of the room key, she went inside to search through their room in a haste, but demanded Castle to stand guard in case they would come back. After all, she doesn't have her badge.

They had to wait for the Harts to leave their room. Beckett and Castle were waiting in a small section close by, hiding in disguise. Once they saw they were leaving the room, Beckett noticed Veronica wasn't wearing the mink jacket. The mission was a go.

Beckett waited for at least a minute before she hurried to their room and began the search. Castle stood by the door.

The Hart's room was just around the corner, giving Castle the advantage to slip a peek down the hallway to see whether they would be coming or not, it was the perfect advantage. Although, Castle got bored, fast. He could see the Harts walking off into distance, their figures were getting smaller... except Sebastian's figure was growing bigger, and bigger.

This was all happening so fast.

Castle had to squint his eyes to see what he was doing. Sebastian was patting down his light jacket, he seem to have forgotten something from their room. "...Ohh shit!" He whispered quietly, turning to the room door as it was left a little opened for Castle to warn Beckett.

He popped his head inside, scanning the area for her, she was nowhere to be found. Their room was shaped differently, there was a wall dividing the bedroom and the desk area. She must have been somewhere behind it, shuffling through the drawers.

"Beckett!" He tried to whisper loud enough for her to hear.

No answer.

Castle quickly gave another peek at Sebastian, oh god, he was coming faster than ever, speed-walking. Sebastian, not once noticed Castle's face sticking out for a split second, busy staring down at his jacket as he continues to search himself.

Oh god, oh god.

Castle rushed into their room, which might have been a little stupid, Beckett could have easily hid herself in the bathroom in the meantime, but he wasn't going to let her suffer alone, god knows, this man could be a killer, and she doesn't have her gun with her.

Beckett peaked out of bedroom area, no jacket yet, "Castle! What are you doing... why are you, wha-" She noticed Castle was in a haste, her eyes widening. Her voice lowering, "Castle..."

Castle had the door shut, it would have given them enough time for Sebastian to open the door with a key card. His eyes scanning the room, and ignoring Beckett. "Hide, hide, hide!" Castle ran over to Beckett, hands were all over her shoulders, trying to nudge her into some place.

Beckett was freaking out, looking quickly around her, there wasn't a goddamn proper place to hide aside from the bathroom. The bathroom wasn't a decent place to hide either, the shower stall is a clear see-through glass type of stall. Heck, even if they closed the door, it would have looked suspicious for Sebastian to notice. Unbelievable. _God, remind me to kill Castle later._

The door opening, Sebastian was quick, he had the card key ready in hand before entering.

The two stared at the door in unison.

Beckett's heart quickened. Thank god Beckett just so happened to be quick on her feet. She grabbed the collar of Castle's shirt, pulling him towards her. Their body molded into each other, her lips capturing his in a fierce throttle.

Castle's feelings were mixed in this situation, he was scared shitless, and shocked. Castle, in a split second, pivoted them around and attacked her body with his up against the pillar of the wall divider.

Beckett forced her tongue into his mouth, parting her lips wide and sighing into the kiss. His groin in between her thighs, hot friction rubbing her crotch. God, they were on fire. The thrill in this situation spiked up through the roof. She was moaning and lost into the kiss. This is just exactly what she was afraid of earlier.

Castle's hands were on her waist, returning the kiss with an equal force.

"What the fuck?" Sebastian yelled out to the couple, making out in his own bloody room?

Kate and Castle broke off in a sudden, both panting their asses off, eyes meeting with each other for a few seconds before turning their heads slowly towards Sebastian in unison.

_Busted._


	6. Chapter 6

**Sex Therapy**

**A/N: This was somewhat a hard chapter to work with. Couldn't have done it without help of a friend, lots of thanks and love, you know who you are. Her suggestions were insanely helpful... making this one probably the most annoying/fun chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Castle.**

* * *

><p>"What the fuck?" Sebastian growled, "Why the fuck are you two snogging in my room?"<p>

Castle's brain was loading slowly. His mind was too busy at the time, taking in the kiss they shared not too long ago, god, it was hot. His pelvic was fully connected with hers, and he still hadn't let go.

Beckett inevitably became wet the moment she felt his hardening friction, she got lost into the situation the moment she pressed her lips on his. Now she understood why he was bragging about his major ego, he was goddamn delightful. "...We... can explain." Beckett choked out the words.

"We're thrill seekers." Castle finally caught up, "We like the risk... that's... that's why we're here f-for the sex therapy, we're horndogs...?"

Beckett looked at him once. _Really?_ Almost a handy excuse though, all she needed to do was to play along, and hope for the best outcome. She pushed Castle off her body, she needed a breather. "We got caught several times for sex in public."

_Kinky_, Castle thought.

"We were kind of... forced to work with a sex therapist to resolve our little issue."

"Those poor children." Castle said.

Beckett slapped him on the chest. _Poor choice of words, Castle._

Sebastian stared at the two, his hands on his hips, and pissed as fart. "Fuck it. I don't give a shit. Get the hell out before I call security. I knew you two were up to no good when my wife met you two."

"We apologize." Castle knew it wouldn't be sufficient enough for Sebastian, but it's the least he could try.

"I. Don't. Care." Sebastian's tone of voice was extremely low and frustrated. "My wife's waiting for me, so get the fuck out before I call security."

"Fine." Beckett snapped, "Okay! We're leaving." That jacket was going to have to wait a little longer than she thought. She grabbed Castle's hand, pulling him towards the door, and out they went. Sebastian slammed the door once they were gone.

"God! Castle! Why didn't you warn me?" Beckett was storming down the hallway, on the way back to their room.

"Excuse me, I did. I peeked into the room to warn you, only you were nowhere to be found."

"Did you even call out for my name?"

"Yes!" Castle groaned, "I ... whispered." _Quick Richard defend yourself!_ "Very loudly! I didn't want to scream, Sebastian could have heard me then!"

"Let's just go, Castle. We'll have to come up with a new plan." Kate sighed in frustration. All she needed was to get her hands on the goddamn jacket. She still needed to call the boys to write up the warrant for the jacket, but it wouldn't be ready til morning.

"Beckett, I'm sorry." Castle apologized as they reached their room door.

"Castle, it's fine."

Castle felt somewhat guilty as heck, even though he did try, but he could have tried harder... then again, if he did, that kiss would have never happened. _Oh man, that kiss._ She made the move, she moaned, and hell, that look in her eyes the second they were interrupted. Unforgettable. "Are you still up for the feast, right?"

"A girl's got to eat, Castle. Of course, I'm in." She smirked, sliding the card key into the slot, "I'm going to shower." With her panties stealthily soaked, she needed to clean herself up.

* * *

><p>Nearing dinner time, Castle took his time in the bathroom after Beckett was done with it. He gathered up his evening clothing with him as well, preparing himself for when they go out to the feast tonight.<p>

Beckett made Castle sworn he wouldn't open the door until she gave him the okay. She changed outside of the bathroom, it was a little risky, but she knew Castle was a man of manners and respect.

She got dressed, a pure black elegant skirt, feminine length with a hem just above the knees, capturing the curves of her upper thighs nicely in a tight fitting skirt. Red sleeveless top, sweetheart shaped neckline, the material wrapped around her slim body. Wearing her red high heels, it wasn't fancy, but it was something she packed quickly in case of something fancy would come up. Beckett had to work with a small length mirror next to the door, her make up kit was on the desk next to the gadgets, touching herself up a little. She noticed her scar was visible, her finger lingering over with a gentle touch.

Castle came out of the bathroom, wearing a spread collar grey shirt, sleeves rolled up to the elbows, leaving a few buttons open on the neckline. It wasn't the night to be fancy, but the least he could do is dress up a little. Along with the shirt, he worn a black sleek, fashionable dress pants. Clean shaven with some fresh Cool Water cologne.

Beckett heard the door opening behind her, she turned to look in Castle's direction, catching his gaze. He was admiring her while she was admiring him.

He didn't say a word of her outfit. Being speechless was enough for Beckett. Castle took the time to cruise his eyes down her body, admiring the physique shape of her thighs, her long toned legs, everything was extraordinary. He hadn't seen the scar yet, standing from afar.

"Castle."

His eyes shifted back up to meet with hers, "Hmm?" Distracted.

"You look good." She smiles faintly.

Castle walked over to Beckett with a grin, "You're extraordinary." Suddenly, the scar was becoming obvious to the eye. He couldn't help but take a look at it for a second before meeting back with Beckett's eyes.

She caught him looking, but she wasn't going to smack him for that. "Thanks Castle." Her gaze drifting off, feeling slightly off. Turning away to face the mirror again with a deep exhale, "I'm going to change my top real quick before we go."

"Don't."

Kate lifted her eyes to meet with his through the reflection on the mirror.

"Never hide your scars, Kate. You're a strong woman, and that scar represents who you are. When we go out tonight, I want the world to see that person on my arm." Castle smiled.

She held the gaze for a moment before bowing her head down with a smile, "Thanks." Kate wasn't the person to dress up for evenings like this. Ever since she was shot, she hadn't been wearing much of a low neck clothing. The idea of people staring at it bothers Kate, but Castle motivated her to embrace it, and she'll do it for Castle.

Kate met Castle's eyes again, "Always." He spoke with a meaningful smile.

* * *

><p>7:02 PM<p>

The feast was nothing like Castle had expected it would be. Almost as if every single person came outside for the feast. It was packed, people were at their tables, some by the bar, some at the dance floor. Castle was suddenly feeling like he was at a frat party for adults... _oh, let the drinking begin._

Beckett was shocked too, she wasn't expecting this. Then again, she hadn't been married before, "Have you seen this sort of party before...?"

"Nope... the retreat I went was purely relaxing. This is awesome!" He exclaimed.

She rolled her eyes, of course, it's Castle. What do you expect? "Well, might as well kick back and relax."

"Detective Beckett relaxing? That's rare."

"Shut up and get me some drinks." She tried to nudge his arm towards with the bar.

Castle laughed, "As you wish. Grab us a table, I'll get us something." While Beckett went over to the host, acquiring a table for the two of them, Castle went over to the bar. He reached over the bar to speak with the bartender, "Keep a tab for me, would you? Put it under Alexander Rodgers." Castle wasn't sure whether they would be drinking a handful or not.

The bartender quickly looked up the monitor screen, he nodded over to Castle, "What would you like?"

"Get me some uh, mojito, and some vodka with cranberry juice."

The bartender nodded his head to Castle, turning to the monitor to charge the drinks to his room bill.

Castle hummed to himself, eyes looking around at everyone else. Everyone was having a terrific time, mingling, and eating. A man came up next to Castle, greeting him. Castle gave him a quick greet back, soon grabbing the drinks and heading back over to the dining tables, scanning the area for Beckett.

Beckett did the same as he did, searching the surroundings. No sign of anybody wearing a brown mink, even though she knew Veronica worn it earlier, who knows, maybe she might have borrowed it. Who the hell knows. She saw Castle coming over to the tables, giving him a quick wave.

Castle came over to the table and took his seat next to Beckett, "Hey, so. I got some vodka, and mojito. Which one?"

"I'm a whiskey type of girl, but I'll take the vodka. Thanks, I'll pay you back later." She took the cranberry glass from Castle.

"Kate, no."

"Castle."

"Okay, fine." He held up his hands in defeat. "I don't want to argue with a pretty lady tonight." Smirking.

She met his calm, soft eyes, she had never been so relaxed before, sitting here with Castle. "I'll grab some food, stay here with the drinks." She leaned over, giving Castle a peck on the cheek before going off to grab a plate.

Castle was having a hard time convincing himself that Kate was either a accomplished actress, putting on a show for others to see, or she actually likes him. Tonight, he wasn't going to push it. Tonight, they'll have fun.

* * *

><p>After they were done with their meals, Castle had finished his drink, and so did Beckett.<p>

"Hey, I'll grab some more drinks." Castle was about to rise from his seat, but Beckett took his wrist, tugging him back down in his seat. "What's wrong?" He asked with a worried expression.

"Castle." She didn't let go of his wrist, she held her gaze down to the concrete floor for a second. Her face frowning slightly, "We need to talk..." She lifted her head to meet with his troublesome eyes, "I... um."

He sat there, watching her. Castle wasn't sure where she was going with this. Is she going to talk because tonight might be their last day at the retreat? The last night to be alone, sleeping in the same bed together? All sorts of possibilities.

"Hey guys!" Veronica popped up out of nowhere with Sebastian on her arm, her voice was dreadfully cheery.

Another goddamn cock-blocker moment, Beckett thought. She was startled by her oddly high pitching voice, "...Hi Veronica." Okay, so she was a little pissed. She was about to spill her guts to Castle. Why is it that they were always getting interrupted?

Sebastian stared at the two without a friendly greet. In fact, he was still pretty pissed at the two in their early encounter.

Castle laughed nervously, "Veronica, hi. What's going on?"

"Sorry guys, I don't mean to pry on your little emotional talk there," She giggled, pulling up a chair next to Castle, leaving Sebastian standing with his hands forced down his pockets, "Sebastian was telling me what happened earlier..."

Beckett's eyes widened.

"All I have to say is wow!" Veronica laughed a little more, "I never took the two of you to be thrill seekers! He also told me that you were caught several times by the cops, you must tell me all about it!" Veronica was no classy girl, in fact, she was a bit of a sex freak.

Beckett groaned, "I need a drink."

"Vodka?" Castle asked, "I'll get some more. Veronica, Sebastian? It's on me."

"Oh, no. Allow me! Although, you wouldn't mind putting it on your tab, hmm?" She battered her eyelashes at Castle, nudging him softly in the arm.

A gold-digger? Great, Beckett thought.

"Sure just uh," Castle jumped at the sound of Veronica's high pitched whistle, a waiter came over to their table. _Jesus does she really have to do that?_

The waiter came around to Veronica with a greeting smile.

"Hey Al, nice seeing you tonight." Veronica gave the waiter a quick wink, "A round of tequila shots for the table, and keep them coming! Put it on this fine man's tab, Alexander Rodgers, thanks." She shooed the waiter with her hand.

Al bowed his head once with a huge grin, leaving the table to gather up a tray of shots.

Sebastian was still standing. He didn't genuinely want to join the group. Veronica grabbed his wrist, "Come on, honey. Sit!" She forced Sebastian's wrist towards her. He gave in and took his seat next to Veronica in silent.

Beckett was silent as well, but Castle and Veronica started talking a little about the meals, how pleasant it was. Things weren't going to get serious until the shots came to the table.

Al landed the tray down onto the clothed table, removing the empty wine glasses, "Would you like me to bring some more?"

"Yes!" Veronica smiled, "You know the drill, I'll tell you when to stop bringing them."

"Very well." Al left them alone with the empty wine glasses in hand.

Beckett didn't hesitate, she took her shot glass in a heartbeat, downing it. She just couldn't fucking wait to get drunk, after all, Veronica interrupted their little damn moment. She was pissed. Her hand patting over her skirt. _No gun, argh._

"Easy, Kate." Castle knew how she feels about Veronica, but he doesn't want to be the one to deal with her hangover. He took his shot glass, clinking with Veronica's.

Sebastian saw Castle reaching his shot glass over for a clink, he gulped the shot in a second. Fuck, Sebastian needed to get drunk as well, he didn't want to be spending time with the Rodgers.

Veronica made a sour face, laughing, "Looks like our partners aren't interested. So tell me, what's the most exciting thing you've done in public?"

Castle was about to speak, but Beckett lunged herself forward, close to Castle, and resting an arm over his shoulder. Playfully flicking with his earlobe with a finger, "Oh, honey... Remember that one time we got caught in the alley...? At night?" Beckett rested her eyes on Veronica's, "We were finishing up, a patrol car caught us with our pants down."

"Saucy!" Veronica laughed, "I can't believe you have the guts to do it in public. It really heighten the sex, right?"

"In so many ways..." Beckett scooted over closer to Castle, who was thoroughly distracted by the imagination of themselves in the alley, slipping a hand onto his upper thigh where Veronica could see it, after all, she is sitting next to him.

Castle didn't jump, he swallowed a large lump in his throat. "..R-right," Beckett's hand on his thigh was slowly stroking back and forth, nowhere nearing his crotch. Castle cleared his throat, "Ye-yes, the alley was amazing."

Veronica watched the two, in awe of their attraction. She envied them.

Castle turned his head to face Beckett. She was so close to his face, her warm breathing hitting the outer surface of his lips.

Beckett almost brushed her lips across his, speaking in a soft, seductive voice, "I personally prefer that one time with the whipped cream..." Her eyes giving a quick look down to Castle's tightening pants, the material in her hand on his thigh tugged a little, he twitched a little, and she knew then. "Down, boy." She backed away, removing her hand from his thigh to obtain the large white napkin that was resting on her lap, tossing it over his lap with a huge grin.

_Oh yeah._

Veronica couldn't help but giggled, "Kate, you are such a tease. Poor Alex."

Castle was straining, he closed his eye and groaned in frustration. To Veronica once his eyes were opened, a soft whisper upon his lips, "You have no idea."

Al came back with another round of shots, Veronica didn't say the safe word yet, Al continued to clean up their empty shot glasses, replacing them with refills.

"Bottoms up, guys!" Veronica took her shot, raising her shot glass in the air before taking it all in.

The rest of the group took their share, downed the tequila, and made bitter expressions.

"Ugh!" Castle nearly coughed.

"What's the matter? Can't hold down your liquor?" Beckett smirked.

"Are you challenging me, Kate?" Castle questioned, "I'll have you know that I can take you on." He arched his eyebrows, giving Kate the 'bitch, please' look.

"Challenge? It's hardly ever a challenge with you, Castle." She purred his name. The alcohol was taking over in her body, making her feeling all hot and bothered. Her blush was creeping upon her cheeks.

Sebastian watched the two for a moment. He wasn't a party man, so instead, he took a vow of silence, sitting back in his chair, and watching the group. He was taking the free shots, courtesy of Castle. Figures it would be a payback for their little encounter earlier.

Before Castle could say anything back to Kate, Veronica reached over to grab his arm, "So!" She was being the annoying bitch as usual, interrupting them so often, "Sebastian and I got caught once, at bed and breakfast's!" Veronica was giggling, Sebastian was giving her a look.

Castle's attention was on her, giving her a nod, "Really? How did that happen?"

Al came back, it was their third round of shots.

Castle saw the opportunity to take his shot, but Beckett grabbed his glass and her own. She needed them more than Castle did. "Hey!" Narrowing his eyes at Beckett, she ignored his gaze and chugged the two in a heartbeat.

"Whoo, girl!" Veronica snapped her fingers, "I like her, Alex." She grinned, "so, we were in our room-"

Sebastian laid his hand on her arm, "Babe, don't."

"Commmeee on, honey, it's fun!" Veronica turned her attention over to the Rodgers, tried to speak, but Sebastian tugged her arm again. She turned to him again, "Whaat?"

"Don't share our private lives."

"Honey, you need to relax. Have a drink!" She nudged his glass towards Sebastian.

Sebastian wasn't going to win this one. He saw the shot glass, "Forget it." He stood up from his chair, "I'm going to go see my friend." He wasn't going to stick around for Veronica's storytelling, she was getting on his nerves. Leaving the table.

"Whatever," Veronica took Sebastian's shot glass, downing it. "So, egh... anyways..."

Beckett watched the two, her eyebrows arched the whole time. She certainly didn't give a shit. Castle was patiently waiting for Veronica to tell the story. The quicker she tells it, the sooner they can leave the table and go somewhere else... hopefully.

"We were in our room. Fantastic place, by the way. We had this balcony outside of the room, I was outside, and Sebastian came outside. One thing led to another, we started going it."

"Uh huh." Castle nodding.

"There was a FINE gardener, he was doing his job. He basically watched the whole thing! And the best part was, Sebastian didn't care. He liked to show the boy he owns me."

Beckett nearly rolled her eyes on this one. _Seriously? _"Right. That's hardly getting caught, you guys were just being watched by some pervert."

" But wait!" Veronica exclaimed, she took a fresh look around to make sure Sebastian wasn't around, then leaning in close to the two, whispering, "I fucked him later when Sebastian went out." Veronica shuddered with a moan, "It was _good. _He had stamina Sebastian didn't have."

Beckett coughed a little, reaching over for her glass of water that was provided before dinner to take a quick sip. _She must be our third suspect, she likes to sleep around. _

Castle was eyeing Beckett for a bit before looking back to Veronica, chuckling, "Why did you cheat?"

Veronica shrugged her shoulders, "Life's too short, besides I wouldn't be surprised if Sebastian cheats on me. If he did, then great. All's fair!"

Beckett stared. _You stupid blonde. _"Right, sure. Anything's possible." She turned to Castle, "Alex, do you want to-"

"Body shots!" Veronica exclaimed.

_Oh hell no, you did not just do that. _Beckett stared at Veronica once again. Just how many more times can this girl interrupt them?

Veronica snapped her fingers over to Al who have been watching her like a hawk. He was her bitch for the night, as usual. Al came over, "Yes ma'am?" "Bring the lime, it's going to get WILDD over here, Al!"

Al smiled, walking away.

"Body shots? Hell no," Beckett tried to stand in her chair but Castle took her wrist and tugged her down, staring at Castle, "Alex, I'm not doing this." She muttered quietly.

"I wouldn't force you to do it, Kate... after all, I thought you said I wasn't much of a challenge?" He was baiting her.

"When it comes to body shots, no, Castle."

"Shy?"

"No." She was scowling at him.

"Am I not handsome enough to lick?" Plastering a stupid grin on his face.

"Alex!"

"Fine, then I guess it's just me, and Veronica then." Castle's eyes gazing over to Veronica.

"Totally fine with me, Alexander." Veronica smirked with a wink.

Beckett caught the wink, sneering at Veronica. Jealously waved over her. She couldn't bear with the thought of the whore's lips on his skin. Like hell that's ever going to happen. Kate snapped, "No." She watched the two resting their eyes on Kate with uncertainty. "I'll do it." Giving in.

"Worried I might steal your man, Kate?" Veronica reached over to slip an arm around Castle's arm, carefully stroking his biceps.

Oh that's just it. Kate was going to have to mark her territory. She didn't want to before, and now she was going to have to deal with it. Nearly growl at the sight of her touching him.

Veronica giggled and letting her arm slip away, "Don't worry, Kate. I don't mess with people's marriages. I prefer to have them invite me... if you know what I mean." She winked at Kate.

_I don't share. _ Kate opened her mouth to say something, but Al came back again with a new tray, and a fresh bowl of sliced lime. The salt and pepper were already on the table.

"Al, you can stop for now, thanks hun." Veronica patted Al on the arm. "Who would like to go first?"

"Castle, lick me."

Castle's eyes widened. That was just the naughtiest thing Beckett ever said to him. Except, of course, they weren't in bed, making love or whatever, he was simply in the middle of their little jealously war. "Uh... I think you might be under the influence, but okay." He shifts himself in his seat to face Beckett.

Beckett kept her eyes on Veronica, daring her to watch the two of them. She wasn't going to let Veronica touch him, at all.

Castle ran his hand through her hair to whip them back away from her bare neck. Castle took no time to wait, leaning in with his head tilted sideways, running his hot tongue from a spot near her collarbone to another spot just a little below her earlobe.

Beckett couldn't help but to part her lips. Her neck was one of the most sensitive spots to touch, the touch of his wet tongue made her moan quietly. Reaching over to grab a slice of lime, putting it in her mouth and keep it there to shut her up.

Veronica was smirking, watching the two were just simply turning her on. It was one of the hottest thing to witness, ever.

Castle carefully sprinkled some salt onto her neck. He replaced the salt in his hand with the shot glass, preparing himself.

Kate wasn't giving him a go or anything at all, she was waiting with her slender neck sticking out for him as an open wide invitation.

He went in to lick in the same spot again but slower, causing Kate to moan softly again with her eyes fighting to stay open. Castle drank his shot in a second, nearing to the point where he needed to express his sullen face but placing a hand on her cheek to turn her head around, lips meeting with hers but with the lime in between, biting down on the lime.

Kate felt his teeth tugging the lime away to let her know he's got a hold of it. Instead of letting the lime go, she grabbed his shirt collar to bring him back into the situation.

Both tried to part their lips but with the lime in the way, they couldn't share the tongue. They were going to have to deal with lips-only contact. Kate held the lime for a few more seconds before letting go. Her eyes opened slowly with lips parted, licking her lips for the taste of the lime.

Castle opened his eyes the second they lost lips contact, watching Kate in awe with the lime in his mouth. Sucking the life out of it. Being done with the lime, he took out it out and licking his lips. His heartbeat elevated, blood boiling all over inside of his body. He couldn't tell whether it was the alcohol working in his system, or it was just all Kate's pure passionate desire for him in that kiss. Castle licked his lips, staring deep into her eyes.

Beckett was still parting her lips, breathing in an irregular rhythm, staring right back into Castle's eyes. Everything surrounding them became silence. Nothing else mattered in this moment.

"...Guys?" Veronica spoke, she hated to interrupt the two, but there were still three shots remaining on the table. "That was hot, but who's next?"

"Nobody's going next." Beckett spoke, her eyes still locked in contact with his as he spoke to Veronica. Really hoping she would leave them alone.

"Wellllll," Veronica rolled the word out, almost slurring, "I guess they're all for me then."

"Oh, Veronica?" Beckett broke the eye contact, frustrated, "We're cutting you off the tab." Beckett caught Al walking by, she whistled at him to stop him from passing by.

Al came to Beckett with a questioning nod.

"We won't be charging anything else under the name of Alexander Rodgers, thanks." Beckett might have been a little tipsy, her head was nearly in a slow motion spin, she didn't want to stop just yet. "Lets go dance." Kate was demanding, she wanted to get the hell away from Veronica.

Castle took her offer when he stood, offering Kate a hand. She gladly took it and stood with Castle. They left Veronica alone with the drinks, without a doubt, she downed the rest of the shots before hurrying over to find Sebastian on her own.

As per arrival on the dance floor, the DJ flicked the switch the slow song over to an upbeat song, changing the scene. Perfect timing. The bass to the song was blasting through the massive speakers lying on the floor next to the DJ table. A few couples left the floor, they weren't the one to get down and shake their booty.

Kate and Castle had found their mark on the dance floor, she was in his personal space, bodies almost in contact with each other as a tease. But she slipped away from Castle a bit, looked up to him once with a smile before shifting her gaze away as she began to move her body. She turned herself around, her back facing Castle and swaying her hips to the beat. No physical contact, she was giving him a show.

Castle wasn't the type to dance like a clubber. Instead, he picked up the pace a bit with his feet, eyeing all over Kate. This was unlikely of Kate to be dancing with him so exotically with Castle, but under the influence of alcohol, she was loosened up. The moment Kate turned to face away, his eyes resting on her ass.

She turned in a instant, her hair whipped over her shoulder, running a hand through her tangled hair with her lips parted a little, coming in close to Castle.

Veronica came up to the two with her hands in the air, arms wiggling side to side, "Heeeeey!" She slurred. "Great party!" She was dancing along with the two for a few seconds before taking Castle's hand without Kate's approval, "Come on big boyy, I own youu a dancee!"

Castle was under the influence of alcohol, he wasn't in the right state of mind to abandon the pretty blonde. After all, it's intriguing to see Beckett go into a anger fit and fight for him. Castle is just going with the flow.

Beckett saw Veronica took Castle away. She was already all over him, with her ass up against his crotch, grinding the hell out of him like a slut. _Where the hell is Sebastian?_ Kate took a large inhale. Oh it's a good thing she wasn't carrying her gun.

Veronica pivoted herself to face Castle, her hands running down his chest, "Don't be shyyyy, toucch mee.." She purred, her hands snaked around Castle's body, reaching down and firmly gripping his ass.

Castle stared at Veronica with shock. He couldn't decide to whether touch her to anger Beckett even more, or to not touch and hope to god she saves him in time.

She did.

Kate watched in horror when she touched his chest... _and his ass!_ She walked over to the two, she practically slipped in between the two. Shoving Veronica out of the way without apologizing. _Oops_. She smirked, closing the gap to perfectly secure her body with Castle's, surprising him. An arm around his neck while the other dangle on her side. Now she was swaying her frontal pelvic with his, intimating a sexual missionary position.

This turned him on vastly. He wasn't expecting her to make the body contact, it was unlikely of Kate, but Castle went ahead to grip her hips with both hands to hold her in place. Undoubtedly joined Kate in swaying their bodies together at a steady rhythm, things were starting to heat up. They were face to face, eyeing each others lips, and avoiding Veronica's presence.

"Heyy!" Veronica whined, she didn't like it when Kate shoved her away from Castle. She was drunk, but it didn't stop her from coming towards Kate, "Kate-"

Sebastian came just in time. He took Veronica by the wrist before she could put her hands on Kate. "What the hell are you doing?" He growled softly at Veronica, "You're done for the night."

Veronica tried to break free from his grip, but Sebastian held on her wrist tightly, "Let me go, you're hurting me!"

Kate couldn't help it, but her cop instinct kicked in when she saw the commotion going on between Veronica and Sebastian. "Castle..." She grabbed Castle's hands to move them away from her hips, preparing to cut them off.

Sebastian wasn't a dumb guy to make a scene. He lets go of Veronica's hand, which stopped Kate from coming over. She stood still close to Castle. "I've had enough of your stupid little drunk acts, Veronica." Now he was causing a disturbance. People were starting to look.

"Oh pleaseee, I was only havinnng fun!" Veronica yelled back at Sebastian, "why do you get to have friendds and I don't? Huh?" She tried to shove Sebastian but clumsily tripped over towards Sebastian.

Sebastian caught her in his arms before she could fall, "You've had enough, babe. Let's go." Sebastian embraced Veronica tightly to prevent her from falling. He stared at Castle with an angry expression, he hated the dude for allowing Veronica to dance with him like that.

Veronica gave in, "Finneee." Sebastian's grip on her was loosened up, she managed to break free from his resistance to clumsily hurried over to Castle, slapping his ass hard. The smack was loud.

Castle yelped in stunned. _Oh god, that HURTS!_

Sebastian growled at Veronica, he went after her to take her wrist, dragging her away for good this time. Veronica was giggling like a drunk bimbo.

Beckett rolled her eyes at Castle's response with a scoff-chuckle. His face was priceless. She may have been jealous with her dancing with Castle, but the ass slap was merely entertaining.

Castle watched the two walk off the dance floor. Hand rubbing his ass cheek, trying not to whine. They were leaving the feast with some people watching her. After a minute, everyone resumed back to their doings. He looked over to Beckett, there was a smile on her face, "...Kate?" He was questioning her face.

She didn't say a word to him, but she took his hand, dragging him across the dance floor.

"Hey, what you doing?" He asked, catching up with her footsteps.

Kate looked over her shoulder at Castle with a grin for a moment before looking ahead. They reached the bar, Kate leaned over slightly over the counter, whistling at the bartender to come around. "Can I get a Bacardi breezer?"

"I thought you were done with alcohol." He grinned, wiggling his eyebrows. Castle was leaning against the counter on his side, facing Kate.

"No, Castle." She smirked. As she waited for the bartender to bring her a bottle of Bacardi breezer, she turned to face him. Her hands began to work on the button of his shirt, popping a few on his chest area to make himself look more sexier for the fun of it. "Just one more drink."

Castle watched her, eyeing her hands working on the buttons and switching his gaze back up to Beckett. He was stammering, but Beckett cut him off, "O-okay..." He obviously had nothing to say. This was Kate, loosened up, and having fun. He always thought she would be a little scary if she drank, but obviously not, it was quite the opposite. Her wild side was finally revealed to Castle.

The bartender pushed the cooler towards Beckett. "8.25."

"Bill it to Alexander Rodgers room bill." Kate said, taking the bottle in hand. The bartender left them alone to the monitor, came back a few seconds later to verify it's been done. Kate thanked the bartender, mumbling to Castle, "Lets go back."

Castle follows her without a question. They were leaving the feast for good. Kate with a bottle of cooler in hand taking her drop. She wasn't going to keep it all to herself, she handed the bottle over to Castle, offering him. Castle took the bottle for a sip, "Not bad." He licked his lips, handing the bottle back to Kate.

* * *

><p>They were walking down the hallway, back indoor of the retreat. The retreat seemed a little empty, everyone was outside, except for a few guards standing by in the lobby on their shift. Greeting the Rodgers as they walked by. The two walked in silence, they weren't standing close together, but Kate was a little clumsy on the way over to their room.<p>

After sharing their bottle a few more times, Kate broke out a laugh out of nowhere, recalling the time Castle had his ass slapped hard, his reaction played out in her mind.

Castle didn't know what the hell she was laughing about, but seeing her laugh made him laugh as well. "What?" He tried to question her, but Kate was shaking her head at him without letting him know what was on her mind. The walk continues in silence, sharing the drink. They were comfortable enough to be drinking from the same bottle, comfortable enough to be with each other. Even under the influence of alcohol, things might be getting a little too comfortable and out of control.

The bottle was near empty, Kate found a garbage bin, tossing the bottle away. She turned her head to look at Castle, not watching where she was walking. She lost track of her footing, she stumbled a little towards Castle, crashing into him softly, shoving him against the low wall to prevent them from falling over. Kate was laughing, she was obviously a little drunk.

He was laughing with her. Kate broke away from Castle, leaning against the low wall. Castle did the same, they needed to stop walking and catch their breathing. Kate's had more shots than Castle did, but with the cooler, it was kicking in more for the two. Their laughter died down when they caught each other staring.

The stare went on for a while, not a word out of their mouths.

Kate was the one to break the contact, pushed herself away from the wall base and nearly stumbled again but caught her footing just in time. Castle followed her silently, both were officially heading back to their room without anymore distraction.

Arriving at their room door, Castle was fumbling with the door key when Kate broke out into another laughter. This was seriously confusing the hell out of Castle. He chuckled at Kate's laugh, it's not often he gets to see her laugh like this, it was cute. "What's so funny?"

Kate shook her head, not being able to say it while she was laughing.

Now it was Castle's mission to find out. He fumbled with the key once again, but managed to slip the key in, finally opening the door. "Come on, Katee... tell me..." He walked in with Kate behind him, allowing her to walk past him before closing the door.

Kate headed over towards the bed, but Castle stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. She turned to look at Castle's face, just as she stopped laughing, one look at his face, it replayed in her mind again, and she laughed.

"Seriously!" Castle narrowed his eyes, trying to catch on. Now he was afraid if this was something he had done to embarrassed himself earlier, or if there was something on his face.

Kate bent over with her hands resting on her knees, trying to hold in her laughter, "Oh Castle..." She stood up straight with hands on her hips, "Veronica," she sputters through her lips, still laughing, "slapped your ass, your face," she couldn't finish the sentence, needing to calm down. She was drunk. If she was sober, she wouldn't have laughed this hard.

Castle narrowed his eyes with a fake smile, mocking her laugh, "Ha ha, hilarious, Detective Beckett. My ass still hurts, you know?"

Her drunkenly laugh died down, but the smile stayed. Kate walked up closer to Castle with her eyes on his, seductively ran her tongue over her lips, whispering, "Why Mr. Rodgers, can I help to make it feel all better?" She was up in his face dangerously close, placed a hand on his hip, then snaked her hand around to latch on his ass firmly.

_Unbelievable. _Castle gulped with his eyebrows furrowed, stammering, "..g-god, yes."

In sync, the duo moved in for a kiss. Castle and Kate leaned in at the same time, he brushed his lips across hers, sipping lightly at her mouth.

Her lips parted, inviting him inside, and the second his tongue swept into her mouth, she groaned, arching her breasts against him and hungrily returning his kiss. Kate's hands were firmly placed on his cheek to hold him in place, but eventually wrapped her arms around his neck, the high heel gave her a significant advantage to nearly level with his face, thrusting her body into his.

Castle's mouth devoured hers; his tongue wreaked havoc on her mind as well as her body. They both groaned, the kiss deepening as he feast at her mouth hungrily. His palms moved her hips, grinding her against him in a rhythm that nearly sent her over the edge.

Kate didn't have a chance to talk with Castle, but she sure as hell felt ready in this situation. The extra friction provided against her crotch as they moved against each other felt like heaven. She jerked her upper torso back slightly with her arms away from Castle's neck, but the kiss was still intact. Her hands constantly rubbed his broad chest, soon finding the buttoned portion of his collared shirt in both hands, tearing it down to pull it open, sending a few buttons flying all over the floor.

He broke the kiss in stunned, sexually groaned the second he feels the chilly air hitting his skin. Castle was turned on, his eyes staring at Kate. Not once he looked down at himself, but Kate had her eyes opened, admiring the bare torso before her.

She eyed back to Castle with a little seductive grin before going back in to capture for another kiss. Castle returned the kiss, hands still on her hips. Her fingers running down his chest, her nails were dangerously close to scratching him, but she was gentle. "..Fuck me." She murmured against his lips.

Castle broke the kiss again. This was not acceptable. He fantasized this moment several times, but this was not it. He wasn't going to take advantage of her, not when she's drunk. She could regret it, and he would end up getting hurt. Castle had the willpower to break the kiss, "Kate..." He whispered. He was going to regret this.

"...what?" She had no idea what was going on in his head, but she didn't care. She was just as turned on as he was, wanting to keep going. Kate grasped the back of his neck with both hands to pull him back in for another kiss.

He gently grabbed her by the shoulders, strongly restraining her from stealing another kiss. "Stop." He demanded, he wasn't going to like this. She was going to hate him for this. "Kate."

Kate did stop, she stood there with her hands removed from his contact, staring at Castle. _You have got to be kidding me. _"You always wanted me, and now I'm here."

"This," He removed his hands from her shoulders, "is not what I'd imagine it would be. I'm not going to take advantage of you. Clearly, you and I had plenty of drinks."

Kate scoffed, "You have got to be fucking kidding me, Castle." She shoved his chest with both hands rested on his bare chest, he was too close to her anyways. Being sexually frustrated, and pissed off, "You're sleeping on the floor. Like fuck you're going to complain, you'll take it." She went over to the bed, grabbing several ugly pillows and shoved them over to the floor, making a mess of it. She didn't care anymore for his well being.

He took a deep sigh. This was going to have to be dealt with tomorrow, when Kate's sober enough. Maybe she'll come to, and apologize for last night. _No screw that._ She ought to be thanking him in the morning for not being an asshole to take advantage of her like that. Castle took the pillows from the floor and arranged them as a mattress. It wasn't going to be comfortable, but it'll do for now. Castle looked around in the room for an extra blanket, there was only one blanket on the bed, but he recalled seeing one in the drawer. He walked over to the drawer, found an extra blanket, it was lighter, but it works. He left it onto the ground as he went into the bathroom with a change of clothes.

There wasn't a single word since Kate ordered him to sleep on the floor. She didn't genuinely care at this point, she slipped her heels off before settling underneath the blanket, the spot next to her was downright cold, and empty, reminding her of her bed back at home. Knowing she needed to change out of her evening, but she didn't want to leave, her head was spinning slightly, and she was extremely frustrated to deal with anything. Instead, her hands snaked to the skirt underneath the blanket, sliding it off and tossing it on top of the luggage next to the bed, leaving her in her panties with the top. Castle wouldn't know.

Castle came out with a light grey t-shirt, and in his silk boxers with evening clothes in hands, discarding them on top of the luggage.

Kate watched him in anger for a bit when he came out.

He settled himself down onto the pillows. _God, they're worse than I thought._ He shifted uncomfortably, lying down on top of a bunch of pillows and unfolding the blanket.

She sat up, there was an extra pillow nearby on the bed, grabbing it and quietly crawling over to the edge of the bed.

Castle saw her torso popped out in view, in confusion.

Kate's facial expression was angry, she scowled at Castle, then tossed the heavy pillow hard directly at his crotch, making him oppressively groan. "Good night, Castle." The sound of her voice was full of anger. She crawled back over to her place and pulling the blanket over her body.

Castle shoved the pillow away from him. He could have sworn that Kate purposefully called out his name to make it sound like "asshole". He muttered quietly to himself, covering himself underneath the light blanket.


	7. Chapter 7

**Sex Therapy**

**A/N: Longest chapter... Err, keep an open mind, the next few chapters will be a bit stormy before the real fun begins, I promise to include some ridiculously sexy, fun humour in the end. ;)**

**(Cough, if you like the sneaking around type of story, stick around, cough.)**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Castle.**

* * *

><p>Kate woke up first, feeling extremely guilty with a throbbing headache. During the middle of the night, she spun her body over to Castle's side of the bed. The existence of his smell lies within the sheets, she needed to be close to him. It wasn't enough, but it still made her feel utterly alone at night.<p>

Last night, she had to sleep alone. Castle frustrated the hell out of her by stopping the intimate moment. She took her drunkenly anger out at him. It was unrealistic of her to do so, but he knew she was under the influence of alcohol. Not once Castle tried to yell back, he simply took it in silence until they went to bed.

Castle was sleeping on the floor, having a bit of an uncomfortable night. Constantly rolled around over a period of time during the night. He managed to sneak a few pillows underneath his legs, some under his arms, trying to be comfortable. His back ended up being on the floor, his legs spread out a little, arms all over the place. He looked like an immature child, fighting to be comfortable. The blanket was torn away from his body, he may have felt somewhat hot last night while dreaming.

Kate was lying flat on her stomach, her fingers running over the sheet, sniffing the scent of his smell. She misses him, she misses the touch, even though he's right there on the floor. She felt that the distance between them was far apart from each other. She remembered everything that's happened last night. Kate thought it was going to happen, but then she understood Castle wouldn't want things go that way when she's drunk. She felt guilty for what she said to him last night, how is she even going to get through today? Let alone this morning when he wakes up.

She sat up, sliding over to the edge of the bed and legs dangling. Her hand rubbed her forehead, headache throbbing, it wasn't as bad as the day she woke up after drinking with Lanie. Kate didn't seem to care much for her headache, it wasn't bothering her much at this point. Her thoughts on Castle distracted her from the pulsating pain.

Landed on her feet from the bed, and pulling her shoulders blades back behind to stretch. She then stretched out her head, tilting it sideways. Kate was quite unaware of the surroundings with thoughts running her mind, that she was still in her top from last night's event, and she was walking around in her panties.

The thoughts of yesterday events occurred in her mind constantly, abusively replaying the kisses they shared over and over. She wanted more, alcohol got in the way, but the case was also in the way. Knowing the case should come first, the feelings will have to be put on hold. Kate was still waking up, in a slow state of mind at the moment. Her main task on hand was to get her butt over to the bathroom to shower and freshen up. She walked around the corner of the bed, again unaware of Castle's presence, until her foot caught underneath Castle's damn foot, easily tripped over and landing right on top of Castle with an oomph sound.

Castle woke up in a sudden surprise with a heavy pressure on his chest, a slight pain caused him to gasped shortly, eyes widening. His hands came around to rest on Beckett's back, unaware it was her anyways. He propped up his head in a quick motion to see who it was, it was only Beckett... No, wait. Kate Beckett was lying on top of him! His eyes quickly glanced over their connecting bodies, she was only in her panties with the tank top she left on from last night. _Oh god, she's revealing a lot of skin. _"Kate... What are you..."

Thank god for his padding; otherwise she would have hurt herself if it wasn't for Castle. Her hands resting on the floor on the either side of his shoulders, lifting her head to hover his face, eyes meeting with his. Strands of her hair fell on his face, but she quickly slipped them behind one ear with a hand. "Castle." This time, Kate was sober and well aware.

This wasn't what she had in mind. After last night, she thought they would be walking around each other in awkwardness. But this wasn't supposed to happen, she wasn't supposed to touch him. She thought she would have gathered up the courage to apologize for last night, or wait for Castle to speak about it.

She loved the connection. His body was warm, and she felt certainly comfortable lying on top of him. Kate wanted to get herself off and apologize, but her body wasn't letting her mind make the decision. Instead, she lied still, breathing through her parted lips.

Castle was getting a little too comfortable with her beneath her. The feeling was desirably great. "Kate..." He whispered her name through slightly ragged breathing.

Suddenly, all of this was becoming familiar. She was afraid he would push her off, reject her like last night. She didn't want to get hurt nor frustrated again. _Shit._ "Sorry." She had to snap herself out of this situation. Kate's body was in between his legs, completely intact. She pushed her upper torso up to hover over Castle's, shifting her knees, so she would get off, but she accidentally brushed one of her knee against his groin.

Castle couldn't fight back the moan, his hands behind her back pushing her back down on top of him. "Stay." After what happened last night, he hated himself to stop their intimate drunkenly moment, but Kate seemed sober enough this morning. She apologized for landing on top, and she wasn't flirting back either. He didn't care much anymore, after a night of struggle in his sleep, he needed to be in contact with her one more time.

She made a soft moan when Castle brought her back down, hands slipped further down on the carpeted floor, chest pressing up against his broad chest. Kate heard what he said. The feelings rushed back to the point where she wanted him. Her finger moved over his lips, tracing the shape. Keeping her eyes open as she closed the distance between them and her tongue slipped out to take over the path her finger had before caressed. She licked the upper lip, then the lower, eventually slid her tongue over the seam. Whispering against his lips, "... Rick." Unsure of whether this was acceptable or not.

That was it, his first name turned him on even more greatly in this situation. His body tingled in anticipation for more. His breathing rhythm matched with Kate's, cupping her cheeks in his hands, carefully pushing her hair back again as it falls from her ear. Castle opened his mouth, begging Kate to come in and devour him. Castle lifted his head to come at her lips, but she jumped back, not allowing him to kiss her.

Not once Kate smiled. When Castle retreated back on the floor, Kate fought the kiss away with a minor willpower, but with Castle giving up, she already missed the contact. She lowered her lips to take his bottom lip in between her teeth, gently sucking it.

Long before any of this happened, Castle knew Kate for her teasing flirts. All the things she could do, she tells him and lets him run off with a wild imagination. This time, Castle wasn't going to let her have her way, nor write herself out of this one. Gently jerked his head away from Kate's suck, flipping them over to the side, further away from the bed and pinning Kate beneath his body. His knees forced its way in between her thighs, arms on the floor besides her head, hovering over Kate with their pelvic connected. Staring deep into the eyes of the woman he love.

Kate stared back, eyeing his lips now and then. When she locked her gaze with Castle's, her mind slipped off into a mental state, everything became stilled, Kate couldn't produce any thoughts nor words. Everything was silent. With his body in between her thighs, she was getting wetter by the second, the pressure on her crotch with his was becoming unbearable, wanting more. She lifted a finger to trace his lips again, before she was too aroused to deny herself any longer, "Kiss me," she told him.

Castle leaned in to capture Kate's lips with a delight force. With her expecting the kiss, she opened her mouth to allow him sneaking his tongue to brush against hers.

She moaned. Finally, she was aching for any type of connection after a long night of sleep. Her hands held securely onto the back of his head, drawing him with force to deepen the kiss. The kiss was painfully slow, filled with lust. Her tongue craving to touch all of his, wrestling with his tongue and bruising his lips.

His pelvic advanced against hers uncontrollably, it was a dry hump. Beckett let out a sharp moan in between the kiss when Castle burdened the tent into her soaked panties, wanting in. Kate erected both legs and snaked them around his pelvic fiercely to keep their bodies hitched. She wanted him so bad, wanting to feel every inch of him.

Castle sucked the bottom of her lip in between his lips, nibbling before going in for another duelling kiss.

Her hands sidetracked down his spine with a firm pressure, reaching over to place a forceful hold onto his ass with all her might, trying to thrust his pelvic down into hers even further. Even though their clothing were in the way, dry thrusting felt good enough for now. Her clitoris was beginning to swell, nearing to the point of numbness. The thin fabric acting as a buffer preventing her clitoris to hide under the hood from over-stimulation.

"R-Rick," She broke herself away from the kiss, needing to catch her breathing and this was all becoming torturous. But Castle disobeyed, he slanted his head to the side to work on her neck, kissing it in an instant. He targeted a spot underneath her earlobe and began to suck on spot.

Her breathing became even more irregular, heavily panting as her eyes snapped open wide, staring at the ceiling. Her eyebrows furrowing as she parted her lips wider, emitting a louder moan as Castle worked on her neck. God, it felt so fucking good.

Castle was finished with the spot, leaving a dark reddish mound on her neck. He brooded his head over to face her again, catching her eye gaze once again before going back down for another kiss, but this time it was harder.

There was a loud knock on their door.

They both broke apart from the kiss, but their bodies were still connecting. Castle mumbling to Kate, "Ignore it..." Resuming the kiss.

She wanted to ignore it too, allowing him to resume the kiss, hopefully the person would leave them alone. Hell, even if it was Veronica on the other side of the door, she would rightfully punched her in the face for interrupting their sexual intimate moment.

The person knocked on the door again, but this time it was louder and aggressive.

Castle groaned, obviously, whoever the hell it was, it seemed urgent but he was still keeping his lips on hers. Kate knew then that Veronica wouldn't have knocked aggressively on the door like that, she flipped Castle over, pinning him beneath her body and forcefully sat up. Her pelvic grind against his a few times before coming to a full stop. A hand on her bare thigh, and another on his stomach. She forced Castle down when he tried to sit up, he was predictable at this time. "Castle, stop!" Beckett whispered loudly, she was still panting heavily, recovering from the heated situation.

He nearly whined when she forced him back down on the floor. Admiring the view of Kate Beckett straddling in his lap, her bare thighs on his side. Her eyes on his, swollen lips with her nostrils flaring, trying to steady her breathing. Kate's bed hair tousled and wavy.

Kate sat there, she was letting Castle have his Kodak moment.

There was another series of rapid knocking, surprising them again.

"Okay!" Kate yelled out, she was getting frustrated with the person knocking on the door. "I'm coming!" She watched Castle open his mouth to say something, but she shushed him with the palm of her hand, whispering, "Quiet." Slightly grinning, they were on favourable terms now. When she lifted herself off, a total loss of body contact shocked her body. Her legs trembled slightly when she stood, but she couldn't waste time, heading over to grab her pyjamas shorts she left on top of luggage and slipping it on.

Castle got up when she did. Obviously, he wasn't going to lie there when she opens the door, and let the person see him with a massive morning' wood. He grabbed himself with a hand, adjusting his shaft and groaning. Quickly gathered a few fresh clothing for himself. _She really is going to be the death of me._

Before Kate walked to the door, Castle grabbed her wrist to tug her in close to him. His free hand rested on her neck, thumb caressing the dark spot he had left on her. He gave her a quick peck on the lips before hurrying to the bathroom.

Beckett couldn't help but bit on her lower lip with a grin, and walking over to the door. She took a quick look at the mirror next to the door, her hair was all over the place. Quickly fixing it up, ruffling it up and made it look like a bed hair... Oh hell, screw it. It already looked one anyway, she thought. But then she noticed a dark spot underneath her earlobe, it was visible to the naked eye. _CASTLE!_ Luckily, she left a whole bunch of make up on the table before they went out, quickly grabbing a bit of the fountain to spread on the dark mound. It didn't do much justice, but it was enough to hide well with her hair down. Any lower, it would have been more obvious. She opens the door.

It wasn't who she expected it would be.

"Esposito!" She was shocked, it was a good thing she noticed the hickey. "Ryan? What are you guys doing here?" She grabbed Esposito's wrist, pulling him inside, and Ryan followed Esposito inside as well. She shut the door quietly, carefully fixed her hair to cover her neck as much as possible, and crossed her arms.

Esposito, being a man, he cruised Beckett's body, whistling. "Got a bit too hot in the room, huh?"

Ryan was smirking with his hands in pocket, taking a fresh look around, and when he saw the pillows on the floor, he gave Esposito a quick slap on the arm.

Esposito looked over, the pillows were all over the floor. That was when his detective mode kicked in, "You made Castle sleep on the floor?" His tone of voice filled with disappointment. _Man, my money's going waste on this one._

Beckett rolled her eyes, "Yes. What? You think we would be sleeping together?" She raised her eyebrows. Thank god, _THANK GOD_ they both had decided on Castle sleeping on the floor. "What are you two doing here?"

"Don't worry, Becks," Ryan spoke, "We came to speak with Arthur regarding the case." Ryan scanned the room again, "Where's Castle?" Unaware of the shower running.

"..Bathroom." She eyed over to the bathroom door, it was closed, but she could hear the water running.

Esposito walked around a bit, looking at a couple of things. Their devices on desk, discarded clothing on a neat pile next to their luggage, keeping the dirty clothing aside for laundry later. "What took you so long to answer the door?" Ryan couldn't wait to hear this one.

"Because you woke me up. I had a bit of drink last night, had a hard time waking up, is all." _Nice try boys._

"Castle?" Esposito asked.

"He probably jumped in the shower before I woke up. You guys wouldn't want him to come to the door in a towel, hm?" She grinned. "Thought you boys weren't that close."

"No... We aren't." Ryan shuddered at the thought of Castle in towel. In fact, they very much so watched Castle's little embarrassing towel drop video they had ripped for Beckett. Although at the time, Ryan mentioned to Esposito that he did have a nice ass. 'Dude, no.' Esposito responded with a grossed out facial expression to Ryan.

"Great... So, the case?" Beckett asked.

"Beckett, we're here as detectives, and you two are here as a married couple." Esposito replied, "We need to interview a few guards around here, Arthur has his staffs checking in with the work log on the night of the murder. Until then, we'll interview the guy, and get him to slip up. Maybe we'll get lucky."

She walked over to the bed while Esposito was talking, sitting down onto it. Her legs couldn't resist the tremble, still recovering from their little encounter. Kate was sexually frustrated at the moment, she wanted to go further but she couldn't. Hell, she even wondered if Castle was actually taking a load off in the bathroom. _Lucky bastard._ "Okay, keep me posted then." Or maybe he was just taking a cold shower to soothe himself down. Who knows?

"So..." Ryan pulled up the ugly chair to face Beckett, sitting in it. Esposito stood next to Ryan and crossing his arms.

"...What?" Beckett scowled at the boys. Neither of them were saying a word except for a, you know what' nod. They were wondering what the hell had happened in the past few days with Castle. Beckett rolled her eyes. _Seriously?_ "Nothing happened guys."

"Sure... How was the sex therapy?" Esposito was grinning.

"Depends, who wants to know? Lanie?" Beckett smirked. Esposito pouted his lips, "Maybe... but we're also your friends too, you know?"

"Come on, Becks." Ryan was trying to encourage her to open up. "It's just us."

Castle came out of the bathroom. Saved by the bell, Beckett thought. _Whew_. He was in a fresh pair of loose black sporty shorts and a grey shirt. Castle managed to have a quick 5 minutes worth of a cold shower, it was unpleasant, but the method was highly effective. "Knew it was you boys when I heard you all!" A huge grin upon his face. His hair tousled wet, water dripping down his temple with a small white towel around his neck.

"Yo Castle. Good to see you're still alive." Esposito walked over to give him a hard pat on the arm, "We missed you."

Ryan got up from the chair, adjusting the waistline of his belt, "Hey Castle." Smiling.

"And I missed you two." Castle grinned. Ryan and Esposito walked over to Castle, dragging him away from Beckett. She raised her eyebrows for a few seconds at the boys scurrying further away from her, then rolling her eyes. "I'm going to go clean up." She left them alone to the bathroom after grabbing a few fresh clothing and shutting the door. It was her turn to shower, god knows she needs it.

The three of them looked over to see that she was gone. Ryan lightly backhanded Castle's chest, "So, what's the deal here? Becks wouldn't tell us anything."

Esposito joined Ryan, "Yeah man, we're your bros. Tell us."

Castle looked at the team, from Ryan to Esposito, then Esposito to Ryan. "Come here." He wrapped both is arms around their neck, one arm for each one, and tugged them closer to Castle, so he could whisper, "Kate... she..."

The boys leaned in closer, waiting for Castle. They were dying to know.

"She's bossy." Castle said, beginning to rant, "She made me look bad during sex therapy! Told our therapist how awful our sex lives were, how I can't give her an orgasm. Hell, she's bossy around here too. She made me fetch coffee for her, she made me pay for everything. I'm telling you guys, this has been an unpleasant vacation for me. You have no idea, NO idea how much I missed you two." And with that, he pulled them close and hugged them tightly.

"Err..." Ryan opened up his mouth with an eyebrow arching, softly patting on Castle's arm. "It's okay." He was comforting.

But Esposito, he broke free from Castle's grasp and shook his head, "Bro, you got some serious issues here with Beckett."

"I know." Castle took a deep sigh, letting go of Ryan who just happened to be still hugging Castle after Esposito broke free. He wasn't going to tell the boys the truth between Beckett and himself. It's what Beckett would have wanted, not until they talk about where they stand. "So, what are you two doing here?"

The two filled him in on the case and shared ideas of the things he could say during therapy, to get back at Beckett. Castle went along with it for fun, but he knew he wasn't going to now. Two days ago, it would have been great. Things were a lot different with Beckett right now.

By the time Beckett was finished with shower, the boys were still there with Castle, sitting on the desk chairs and reviewing the case on the laptop. Esposito was the only one standing. With Beckett fresh out of the shower with cherry scent, fulfilling the entire room with the heavenly smell. Castle got himself turned on by the essence of smell.

"Hey, I thought you two would be with Arthur by now?" She asked the boys on the way over, stood behind Castle and Ryan. She hoped they would have been out of the room by the time she finished, so she could talk to Castle. Her wet hair tangled all over the place, forgetting the fact that the shower washed away the fountain cover up on the hickey.

"Nah, we decided to hang out with our boy here. Scared we might steal him away from you, Becks?" Esposito smirked.

She stared at Esposito, "Oh no, feel free to take him off my hands. Could use a vacation on my own."

"Ohh!" Castle turned his torso slightly around to face Beckett, "You wound me, Detective." Castle's eyes widened at the hickey, he could see it, but he couldn't say anything to Beckett. He placed a hand on his neck, scratching the same spot, hoping Beckett would get the hint. _Come on, Kate... Look, look, look._

Ryan became overprotective of Castle, he placed a hand onto Castle's shoulder, "Castle, don't worry. You got us, remember?"

"If only you two were women." Castle spoke, trying to distract the boys from looking.

Beckett stared at Castle with her eyes narrowing, trying to catch on. _Why is he staring at me like that?_

Esposito scoffed. He caught up long before Beckett could, staring at the hickey. "Becks, you got something on your neck- IS THAT A HICKEY?"

_Oh fuck. _Her eyes widened. Castle did try to warn her, she was too late. "No!" She didn't hesitate. "It's not a hickey."

"I wish it was a hickey." Castle had to save her from embarrassment. "I noticed it too, I tried to get her to tell me but she wouldn't."

Esposito and Ryan were scowling at them. They didn't believe them, not one bit. But the truth wasn't going to come out easily. Ryan tried to talk, but Esposito's phone rang loud with a shrill, answering it, "Yo." The rest of the gang became silent as Esposito answered his cell, watching him speak. "Alright, thanks." Esposito hung up, "That was Arthur. He's sending someone here. Mind if we use the database here? Get an idea of the guards."

"Knock yourself out." Beckett spoke. Castle stood up from his seat to allow Esposito take his place.

"Thanks bro... Yo, do you think you can get me and Ryan some coffee?" Esposito asked Castle. They totally forgot the hickey, it wasn't necessary for now. Castle groaned, of course. They boys can't grab a cup by themselves, they would be making a scene if they walked into the buffet. "Sure, I'll grab a little something for all of us then. Beckett, what would you like?" He met with Beckett's gaze.

Kate looked to Castle before heading over to the bathroom to blow-dry her hair, shrugging her shoulders, "Surprise me."

Castle dipped his head, "I'll be back." He turned to the boys before heading out, "Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

* * *

><p>Nearing 1 PM. The boys first arrived to their room at around 11:30 AM, it was unlikely of the duo to sleep in a bit later than usual, but with the night they had, it was inevitable. Beckett checked her watch. She hadn't realized the time had gone by so fast, "Castle, we got to go." Beckett was properly dressed with her hair fixed up, a bit of a cover make up on the hickey. The more invisible it becomes, the easier the boys forget.<p>

"Where do you guys have to go?" Ryan asked.

"Our therapy." She responded.

"Beckett, we don't have to go. The boys are still here, we're working with the case. It's a perfectly good reason to skip our session." Concerned, he didn't want to make Beckett feel forced to go.

"Huh..." Beckett grinned, "Funny. I recall you telling me it would be a waste of money. I don't care how much money you have, Castle. I don't like to waste it." She paused for a moment before speaking with a grin, "Why Castle, you scared I might rough you up again?" She wiggled her eyebrows once.

Esposito and Ryan smirked, watching the two.

"I-I ... no. Are you sure?" He stammered.

Beckett laughed a bit, shaking her head, "Come on Castle. Let's go." She came close to Ryan and Esposito, slapping a hand on each arm's, "Boys, if you ever so mentioned to Lanie how I persuaded Castle into our session today, I'll have you guys know that when I bury you, I will regret nothing."

"Got it boss." Esposito took Castle's seat after he got up to get ready.

Ryan arched an eyebrow, "Err, you can count on me."

"Good. Castle, you ready?"

* * *

><p>They arrived at Courtney's office on time. Before they were allowed inside, Courtney stepped outside towards them in the waiting room. "How are you guys today?" She asked the two.<p>

"Good, thanks." Beckett replied.

"More than okay, I think." Castle answered after Beckett.

"Great. That's good to hear." Courtney cleared her throat, "Today's session will be a little different. I'm going to divide up the time, I will personally speak to each one of you for 30 minutes. With sessions like these, a significant other tend to open up more, and it will be easier for me to know what I'm dealing with. Who would like to go first?"

_Aw crap... I would have settled for something more physical._ "Alex can go first. Should I wait out here?"

"If you'd like, I need you to be here by 1:30." Courtney nodded. "Alexander, do you mind?"

"I don't mind." Castle responded. "Shall we?" Once Courtney and Castle settled in the office, with the door shut, Beckett left the waiting room to grab herself a cup of coffee, passing the time.

* * *

><p><strong>[ Castle &amp; Courtney Session ]<strong>

Castle settled on the couch by himself. The couch felt terribly bulky for one person alone. He intertwined his fingers, pouting his lips and watching her settle down as well. She was taking out the binder, giving Castle a friendly smile before whipping out her pen.

"How did it go yesterday?" She asked.

"It was interesting."

"Mhm..." She held her gaze down in her binder, "Would you care to elaborate? You two went to the feast, did you not?"

Castle took a deep sigh, "Yeah, we went. It was a little awkward before that. I'm not sure exactly what's going on between Kate and I. We kissed once briefly before the feast. After the kiss, we got back to the room to get ready. Had a nice dinner, drank some, and danced."

"Alexander, while that sounds good, but you're missing out a lot of details here. Who kissed whom first?"

"She did." Castle got another 'mhm' from Courtney when he spoke. "Actually, she surprised me." Castle chuckled a little, "Like I said I'm not sure what happened. It was the spur of the moment, I guess. It felt good." He paused for a few seconds, "No, scratch that. It was amazing. There's this fire that's been running low for so long, and when we kissed, we lit the ignition."

"And what stopped you guys? Was it because you two were in public?"

"Oh, uh. No, Sebastian caught us red-handed. He's one of the couples here we know. We didn't say much to each other after that, Kate and I. Like I said, we got ready, had dinner, and danced."

"How did you feel in terms of last night with Katherine? Did it feel uh, right? Wrong?"

"Fairly alright in some ways." Castle's gaze drifted off towards the floor, "She loosened up. She always had been a little uptight about some things. Kate's a hard worker, she doesn't let things get to her easily. When I first met her, she was a mystery I was never going to solve. Kate always had this wall, I've been at my best to help break it down, one brick at a time. Courtney, you may not know us but believe me when I say this, she's a very strong woman."

"That's interesting, Alexander-"

"I love her." Castle interrupted Courtney. "Always have."

Courtney took one calm look at Castle, she could see it in his eyes. "Richard Castle." She paused, licking her lips, "Those things the two of you talked about in the past few sessions," his eyes widening when she spoke his name, "I'll admit, I should have come forward, but I'm no fool. I thought something was going on, and I was right."

"You're a fan." Castle spoke˜ with a grin.

"Of course." Courtney laughed a little, "And I'm not happy with the fact that you killed off Derrick Storm. But let's face it Richard, I've read the Nikki Heat books. When I got home last night, I put the pieces together. It was a no brainier that Katherine is Nikki Heat. It was also a no brainier that you portrayed yourself in the books with Katherine, except the actions were all fiction. The feelings weren't, am I right?"

"Yeah... But Kate doesn't know how I feel."

"Maybe not. Maybe she does. Have you tried talking to her about those feelings?"

Castle held his head down a bit, "I did tell her once, but she doesn't remember anything. It was a traumatic event for Kate. It's been complicated for some time now."

"Actually, no." She closed the binder, seeing that she doesn't actually need it since they're not an actual married couple, "The more you hold off, the harder it gets to talk about it. That's the problem with most people these days. People fall in love, and they're afraid to say it. Believe it or not, rejection is a highly common issue these days. People are often worried they'll get hurt in the end, that their friendship won't be the same again. My point is, life goes on, and you don't want to waste another minute of it. Now, I read that you're involved with the police in the field. Tell me, how often is it that you guys end up in the danger zone?"

"More than enough. She nearly died, we nearly died. Several close encounters."

"I'm sure Kate is an excellent cop, but let's face it. One of these times, one of you won't be so lucky. Richard, it's not what you want to hear, but it's reality." Courtney took a deep sigh, taking a quick look over to the clock hanging on the wall, "I'm afraid I'm going to have to stop us right here. It's 1:28. I will need to see Katherine."

Castle laughed softly, "You're not going to tell her anything I said, right?"

"Of course not. Married or not, the doctor-patient confidentiality rule still applies."

"Right... I do have one favour to ask of you." Castle asked.

"What's that?"

"Could you please not tell Kate that you know of us? The last thing I want her to do is freak out on me when she finds out. We're on an undercover mission here."

Courtney stood up with another friendly smile, "I have no intention of doing that, Alexander. Trust me, you have nothing to worry about. Think about what I said. But remember that kiss? You couldn't fool a stranger, even if you want to."

Castle laughed, "Thanks Courtney." He reached over to shake her hand, "I'll have something signed for you, if you'd like. Let me know."

"Sure." She smiled.

* * *

><p>Castle came out of the office, it was a little past 1:30. Beckett was sitting in a chair with a magazine on her lap, a cup of coffee in her hand. She watched Castle come out first with Courtney following behind. "Hey." She put on a weak smile.<p>

"Hey." Castle smiled back, "So, should I wait here or?" He asked Courtney.

"No need, Alexander. There isn't any homework." She winked at the two, "But if you would like, practice. Remember to keep the BTT rule."

"Right." Beckett tossed the magazine back on the small table next to her, standing up with her eyebrows arching. The two of them looked at her closely, Kate looking dumbfounded. "...What?"

"Nothing. I'll go grab some coffee for... I'll meet you back at the room." Castle left after that.

* * *

><p><strong>[ Beckett &amp; Courtney Session ]<strong>

Beckett sat by herself on the middle of the couch. She watched Courtney settling down in her chair with the binder on her lap. "Alright Katherine. I had an intriguing chat with Alexander, but with you-"

Kate interrupted Courtney, "What did he say?"

Of course, Kate wanted to know. Courtney smiled, "I'm sorry, but you know there's a doctor-patient confidentiality. If anything, he didn't bash on you in terms of sexual life. You have nothing to worry about my dear. Now, in this session... We'll analyze yesterday's events. It's no surprise to me that the two of you shared a few intimate moment with Alexander. How was the feast?"

"... It was good." Kate took a deep sigh. She wanted to hear what Castle had said to Courtney badly, even though Courtney reminded her of the rule around here. "We had some fun."

"As Alexander mentioned, you kissed him first until somebody showed up. I'd like to talk about the kiss, how did that make you feel? What provoked you?"

_Oh lord._ "Well..." She gulped, "Uhm, it was a spur of the moment, I guess. Maybe I realized how much I missed it."

"There are no maybes here, Kate. You kissed him first. Did you regret it?" Courtney asked.

Kate lets out a chortled laugh, leaned over her hands intertwined on her knees, "No, I regret nothing. I wanted to kiss him for so long. It felt good to be with him again, even though things are complicated between us." She had to lie for the sake of therapy, she hadn't been with Castle before.

"That's a good sign." Courtney jotted down a few notes in her binder, "Tell me, when was the last time you told him you loved him?"

Kate had this look in her eye when Courtney asked her the question. She never did once told him, but she recited the words in her head over, and again. After a few sessions with Burke, she came to realize that it was her mother's death that's holding her back, and she has to be ready to let go. "...A-A few months after we got married? It's been a long time."

Courtney knew Kate was lying, but she had to asked. She made a promise to Richard to keep things undercover. "That's a common issue among married couples. Some have a habit of repeating the three words, and eventually they realize they don't really mean it anymore. Some get confused, lost... But Katherine, it is okay if you hadn't said it in a while. It does not make you a bad wife. Generally, people do prefer to hear it when they really mean it."

"Right." Kate spoke. "How do you feel about Alexander now?" "... I care about him, a lot. I feel that I don't deserve him." "Why's that?" Kate chuckled with a weak smile upon her face, "Just the little things I do, I end up hurting him. He doesn't deserve that, he's a great guy."

"Katherine, do you love him?" Kate met with Courtney's gaze with a lustful expression. Her lips divided, words were unspoken, but her lips were moving.

* * *

><p><strong>[ Castle's room ]<strong>

Castle brought in a tray of extra coffee for the boys and himself. "Hey guys, how's it going?"

"Yo, where's Beckett?" Esposito asked, taking the coffee cup from Castle, "Thanks."

"She's finishing up in therapy. Our therapist had us separated to talk with us alone." Castle answered, handing Ryan his 2nd cup of coffee of the day, Ryan mumbled thanks.

"Anything we should know about?" Esposito took a sip of his coffee.

"Nope. Just a few questions about yesterday. We went to a feast last night. It was almost like a party, some alcohol, dancing, all the fun stuff, you know."

"Wait, dancing? Alcohol? Is this why Beckett made you sleep on the floor, huh Castle?" Ryan asked with a smirk, "You came on too strong or what?"

"No!" Castle scoffed, "After our first night together in bed, she didn't feel comfortable with you guys knowing we slept in the same bed together. She thought it was unprofessional, since we're on the case here."

"Something happened bro." Esposito looked to Ryan, shaking his head, "Castle's lying to us. What should we do to him?"

"I don't know... He has been on the other side of the interrogation room with Becks before, but has he experience it with us? Ryan hummed to himself, putting his thinking cap on. "This ought to be fun."

"Hell yeah." Esposito stood from his chair, Ryan soon joined him, "Castle, you can hide, but you can't run from us."

Castle stared at the two ganging up on him, "You made a bet, didn't you? How much? $200? $300?"

Esposito scoffed lightly, "...$300 says you tell us what happened. Just one tiny information and we win. Come on Castle. We owe you one. How about the hickey, huh? Did you do that?" Esposito wiggled his eyebrows with a foolish corner smile, baring teeth.

"Lanie's going to kill us if we don't get a little something from you." Ryan spoke, "She scares me like Beckett, demanding that if we don't get you to cough up something, heads will roll."

Beckett came through the door, spooking all three of them. Castle jumped, but the boys didn't. She raised an eyebrow at the three, "What's... going on?"

Castle took a deep sigh, saved by the bell. "Beckett, you're out early?"

Kate looked at her watch, it was 1:58, "It's been almost 25 minutes. Courtney decided to cut it a little short. Why are the boys up in your face, Castle?"

Castle turned to look at Ryan and Esposito, they were standing close to Castle, up in his face with their eyes staring deep into his. It spooked Castle. "... Isn't it obvious? They're analyzing my ruggedly handsome face."

Beckett rolled her eyes, "Guys, I'd like a word with Castle." "Sure boss." Ryan nodded, standing still with Esposito. "Alone." "Take him outside, we can't hang around by the door, you want us to blow your cover?" Esposito crossed his arms.

Beckett grinned, "You have to go interview the guards, remember?" Beckett mimic Esposito's action, crossing her own arms.

"Right." Ryan patted on Esposito's arm, grabbing the file Arthur's staff left them earlier.

Esposito sneered at Beckett for a few seconds then gave in, "I'll keep you posted."

"Thanks guys." Beckett held the door open, letting the two walk out of their room and shuts the door. "Castle, we need to talk."

"Hold on... Isn't that...?" Castle stared at the laptop monitor, "That looks awfully like someone we met."

"Castle, I'm serious." Kate tried to grab a hold of his attention, but he kept interrupting her.

"Kate, look." He turned to look at Beckett, shifting the laptop, so she could see. It was a picture of Adam, the landlord.

Kate narrowed her eyes at the monitor, she came over, taking her seat in front of the laptop. "That doesn't make sense. How can you be a guard and a landlord at the same time?" Castle took his seat next to Beckett. She quickly pulled up the precinct system, pulling up the report from the crime scene. Adam's name was signed on the witness statement report. Then pulled up the landlord photograph on the guard database record, "He's living under a different identity here, Chad Weswick. This doesn't make sense, Castle."

"Kate, I've got a crazy theory for you."

"Go on." Kate grabbed her cell phone to call Esposito, but held off the phone call for Castle to talk.

"As we know, Veronica was wearing the brown mink jacket on the night of the murder. She was seeing the victims, engaged in sexual activity. I'm thinking Chad here, used to be a guard here at the resort." Castle pointed to a short written information on the monitor, "Says here he was fired two days prior to the murder. Let's say, Sebastian made a deal with him to spy on his wife, but then he saw something, something he wasn't supposed to see..."

"Maybe the victims found out he was snooping around? They went to the head manager..." Kate continues.

"To have him fired, Chad was making them uncomfortable during their stay."

"Okay, so then he was fired." Kate paused, "...But Sebastian, how does he even know where she went? And how does Sebastian fit into all this? Adam claimed to have known the victims for years."

Castle pointed to the laptop again, "What kind of shift did he work here?"

Kate quickly checked Chad Weswick's record on the database, "Nope. Chad worked from 10 to 3. That's enough time to go back to the city and work a second job. Being a landlord doesn't require you to be around the tenants 24 hours a day. That gives him the opportunity to be somewhere else, it's a short shift."

"Do we know for sure if he was actually intoxicated on the night of the crime? He was probably still tied with Sebastian then, informing him on Veronica's whereabouts. Sebastian must have came out on his own to handle the situation."

"It's a decent theory Castle., but we don't have any evidence."

"Not yet. Did you call in for warrant?" Castle asked.

"Yeah, I had the boys call it in earlier. I'll call Esposito and let him know." Beckett paused her finger before speed-dialling Esposito on the cell, "Hey Castle." She looks up to meet with his gaze, "How would you feel if we end things here, at the retreat?"

"You mean, sign out?" He asked.

"Yeah. We've got some solid leads now, we'll continue from the precinct. The warrant will soon come through for the coat, and we also got Chad, who lied to us about his identity. It's clear we don't need to be here anymore."

"You're right." He wasn't going to argue with Kate. He promised himself that he would never make her into something she didn't feel comfortable with. If this was something that's pushing her out of the comfort zone, he'd step aside. Judging the past few days, the things that happened there was no way Beckett was going to kick him out of her life before they have a chance to talk. He'll damn make sure they do. "Let's pack up here real quick, we'll go sign out at the receptionist desk. I'm going to call Alexis and let her know."

"Thanks Castle." She was afraid this would ruin his undercover fun around here, the opportunity to be around her and making things happen. When she tried to talk to him, Castle ignored her cry for attention and stay focused on the case. It wasn't that he did something wrong, the timing was just awful.

Castle smiled, trying to hide the disappointment. He grabbed his cell off the desk, "Excuse me," he left the office area over to the bedroom. It wasn't much of a privacy, but it was enough when Beckett dialled Esposito on her cell, giving him the advantage to speak quietly. Beckett wouldn't be able to hear much when she speaks to Esposito.

"Esposito, hey." She spoke into the cell, "Listen, change of plans."

He waited for Alexis on the other line to pick up, eventually she picked up on the other line, greeting him, "Hey pumpkin," he greeted back. "Change of plans."

"When you guys left, you left a photograph of a guard on the laptop. Did you get a clear look on him?" She tapped her fingers on the desk quietly, "You missed it? He's the landlord we spoke to at the victim's place. Yeah, Adam Hill. His real name is Chad Weswick, he lied to us, and I need you to pick him up for interrogation." Beckett pulled up the precinct system, she rested her cell in between her ear and shoulder, "Let me pull up his address, one second."

"Everything's fine. No, nothing bad happened." Castle was pleased to have a loving daughter, she truly is impressive. "We got some solid leads, we have enough to come back and run them down. No, yes. Beckett's fine, we're fine. I- Alexis, no." He furrowed his eyebrows. She was asking if something had happened between them that would cause the therapy to stop. Castle didn't want to lie to his own daughter, but the thing with Kate is complicated, so it seems.

Kate gave Esposito the address, "Uh huh... Alright. No, I think you should finish up here. Just wrap up the interview quickly. Castle and I are going to sign out of here, we've got enough leads to run down. Javi, no," she sighed, frustrated, "This has nothing to do with me or Castle. Don't leave yet, we'll ride with you back. I'll call you later."

"Thanks pumpkin, I'll see you later tonight, love you." Castle hung up the phone, he looked over to Beckett who was just finishing up as well.

She hung up a few seconds later after Castle did, looking back at him. "Everything okay with Alexis?" She asked, standing up to walk over to her luggage.

"Yeah, told her we were coming back to the city today. She asked if something happened between us, I-"

"Castle, you didn't tell her, did you?"

"I told her no." Castle knew this was coming, "I'd rather talk about it before we do anything here, Kate. Whether you like it or not, this isn't going to go away on its own."

"I know," Kate sighed, "Let's just wrap up the case. Can we do that for now? Preferably without Veronica, please." She pouted her lips, hiding the smile.

Castle laughed a bit, "She really is something."

Kate tossed a bit of humour to lighten the mood up; otherwise things would have been rather awkward. She began to pack, and so did Castle.

* * *

><p>Upon leaving the room, Kate changed her clothing more to her professional style, a light cover over her shoulder with her badge strapped to her belt, gun in holster hidden beneath the jacket. She felt superior to have them attached to her again, she wasn't the one to enjoy walking around without them these days. They both held their bag of luggage over their shoulders, Castle carried the extra bag of devices stored carefully inside.<p>

Both walked down the hallway quietly until they reached the receptionist desk. Castle came up to the receptionist lady, it was a different woman. She hadn't noticed Kate's badge at all, she smiled warmly to Castle, "May I help you?"

"Yeah, I'd like to sign us out. Alexander Rodgers, please." Castle took out his visa credit card and laid it on the desk, preparing himself for the bill charged to his room.

"One moment, please." The receptionist lady looked to Beckett with a smile. Kate smiled back, she was silent. The woman then resumed the computer work on screen, pulling up the data.

Sebastian was strolling through the lobby. He hadn't noticed the two until Castle turned his head to look around, he caught Sebastian's attention. _Not these two_, he thought. He quickened the pace, hoping to walk by, not wanting to deal with the Rodgers again. _For the love of god, fuck off._

Castle whispered to Beckett, "I'll be back." He walked over to Sebastian and blocked his way, "Hey, Sebastian." Castle kept a reasonable distance from him, "Can I have a quick word with you?"

Sebastian halted in his pace, he tucked his hands into the front of his jean pockets, "No. Whatever it is, I don't want to hear it. If you'll please move, I have somewhere to be."

Beckett watched the two, she didn't know what the hell Castle was doing.

"Veronica," he spoke her name in order to catch Sebastian's full attention, "You know I didn't mean to do any of these things last night. Things were out of control, we were all a little drunk."

"So you're saying you're responsible for your actions?" Sebastian nearly growled, stepping towards Castle, but he was backing off a bit to keep the gap wide between them.

"No, I was with Kate until Veronica came and pulled me away, to dance."

Sebastian walked towards Castle again, taking the hands out of his pocket, "Are you calling my wife a slut?" Clearly he's twisting the words around to make sure Castle was the one to blame, no matter what. He hated Castle.

Castle took a deep sigh, "It wouldn't hurt for you to open your eyes and see."

"Listen to me you piece of shit liar," Sebastian was up to Castle's face. Castle gathered up the courage to stand his ground and face him. "My wife is not a slut. You tried to charm her with your stupid little cute personality."

"Oh like hell I'd even try and charm her." Castle fought back, "She came on to me, I resisted her, but she still came back for more."

Beckett rolled her eyes. _Seriously_, what the hell is Castle even doing, trying to apologize for what's happened last night? Veronica was the one to blame, and this wasn't going anywhere. Castle's goal of this little mission of his was just downright silly. She walked over to them with a demanding voice, "Cut it out."

Sebastian stared at Beckett for a moment, he wasn't going to listen. He stared back at Castle, feeling provoked. He lunged forward with a fist across his cheek, punching him hard.

Castle stumbled back a little with a grunt, taking the hit. He hadn't expected it, even though he knew it was bound to happen but not right this second.

"Hey!" Kate came towards Sebastian. He tried to launch his elbow at Kate, but she blocked his attack. Instead, she grabbed his arm and forcefully twisted it behind him. She kicked the back of his legs to throw him down.

He groaned in miserable pain, the arm twist was hell. Any attempt at escape was hopeless, Kate whipped out her metal cuffs, snapping one wrist. She then grabbed his other arm, his wrists slowly came together, and the handcuffs closed.

Sebastian was enraged, he tried to shake his body around but Kate had her knee pressed down in his lower back. He growled, "What the fuck are you doing to me, you bitch!"

She leaned down close to his ear, "Detective Beckett, NYPD. You have the right to remain silent, I'm placing you under arrest for assaulting my partner." _Was this Castle's idea all along?_ He knew Sebastian would be walking around in the retreat, guilty-free of the charges for now until they would find something to stick. Now with Sebastian in cuffs, Kate vaguely remembered Veronica telling they knew the victims. It was a probable cause to suspect him, and Castle would carry out the charges if he'd like. Anything to keep him around.

Castle watched Kate, he was in awe of her. His cheek throbbed, hand cupping over the cheek with a grin on his face. "Nice work, Detective Beckett."

The receptionist sat there, in total shock. _What the hell is going on?_ She blinked hard, taking the papers out of the printer and placed them on the desk, "...Uhm... Mr. Rodgers? I still need you to sign." Cop or no cop, they still had to pay off the bill.

"Thanks, Castle." She reached to grab her cell from the pocket, speed-dialling Esposito again. "Hey Esposito, come to the lobby. I arrested Sebastian. Yeah, I don't have my car here. Thanks." She hung up, holding Sebastian steady on the floor.

"I'll go... uh, take care of that." Castle rubbed his cheek, wincing in pain. He walked over to the receptionist desk to sign the forms, paying off the bill.

Esposito and Ryan came running a minute or two later. There were a few couples standing by, watching the cops in action, utterly confused and shocked by the Rodgers, they were undercover the whole time and they never once suspected a thing. "Hey Becks," Ryan spoke. Esposito and Ryan grabbed Sebastian's arms to help him stand up, Beckett by then had to let go of Sebastian.

"Yo, what happened?" Esposito asked. Sebastian wasn't saying a peep, he was remaining silent. "He assaulted Castle." She answered.

Sebastian spat out, "He provoked me, you lying bitch!"

Esposito tugged his arm badly, he couldn't do anything in front of the audience. He simply just tugged his arm with a force, "Watch your mouth, punk."

Beckett narrowed her eyes at Sebastian, walking up to his face, "Listen to me you son of a bitch," she mutters quietly, "He apologized, and yet you decided twist things around. I'm a reliable witness. So if I were you, I'd think before speaking again."

"Let's go." Esposito jerked Sebastian's arm towards the lobby door.

Veronica came jogging. She was on the lookout for her husband, Sebastian. It was obvious she didn't know what was going on until she walked through the lobby, she spotted Sebastian being escorted by Ryan and Esposito, she was stunned for a moment until Kate saw her.

Kate had to do her job, even though she hated Veronica. She walked over, "Veronica, stay calm-"

"NO!" Veronica came rushing towards the detectives walking out of the lobby with Sebastian in cuffs, but Castle managed to step in the way, grasping Veronica around her waist to stop her. Ryan noticed the woman, he told Esposito to carry on, and he'd check in with Kate on who the woman is. "Where are you taking him? Let me go!"

"Castle, you can let her go." Kate commanded, she came up closer when Castle did. Veronica fixed her clothing, she was calm then. "I'm sorry to break the news, but we had to arrest your husband for assaulting the authority."

Castle wasn't one, but he remained silent, Kate had to play an angle here. Ryan came over to the gang, "Hey, are you Veronica Hart?"

"Yes." She replied, "What's this about?"

"We are going to have to take you down to the station, Veronica. Detective Beckett here said you were acquainted with the Adagios victims."

"Wait, what?" Veronica was panicking. She didn't have anything to say to defend herself.

Beckett grabbed a hold of Veronica's arm, she tried to pull away, but Beckett kept a firm grip on her arm. "Ryan, take her with you."

"Err, no. We have Sebastian riding in the backseat with us. Becks, you know the drill." Ryan spoke, handing her his own cuffs, "Here."

Oh hell, Beckett doesn't want to have to deal with Veronica in the car ride back home! Kate choked, she couldn't say anything to Ryan of what she's actually like. She forced herself to grab Ryan's cuff, slapping them on Veronica's wrist for the sake of safety since Castle's car doesn't have a proper barricade in the backseat. Better safe than sorry.

Veronica cried, "Ow! Katherine!" Beckett smirked a little, boy she enjoyed seeing Veronica wince. "Castle, grab my bag please." Beckett held her open palm to Castle.

"Okay... What?" Castle stared at her hand. Beckett was gesturing for something.

"Give me your car keys."

"Oh." And there she was, the Beckett he knew was back. Castle reached in his pocket, handing her the car keys.

* * *

><p>On the ride back to the precinct, Esposito and Ryan were the first to leave the premises with Sebastian handcuffed in the back of their seat. Sebastian was still on the way over, but Veronica certainly wasn't. Beckett took over the steering wheel while Castle kept an eye out on Veronica to make sure.<p>

Veronica wasn't comfortable riding in the back seat with her hands cuffed behind her, annoyed, "I don't get it."

Beckett almost groaned when she heard Veronica beginning to rant. _Oh god Castle, please don't ask... Please don't ask._

"Don't get what?" Castle pivoted to look at Veronica.

_Goddamn it, Rick. _Beckett wanted a quiet ride.

Veronica lunged forward to look closer to Castle, analyzing the small scrap on his cheek, "You're charging my husband for that? That's hardly a scratch, you wimp!"

Castle stared at Veronica, eyes narrowed. He placed his fingertips on her forehead to press into it, pushing her back in her seat. Clearly he shouldn't have asked in the first place. "I'll have you know that it did hurt. I never provoked him, I tried to set things right, but your husband wouldn't listen."

"Whatever, Alex." Veronica lets out a strong exhale, "This is bullshit."

"My name's Richard Castle, Veronica. Alexander is my middle name. This is Detective Beckett."

Veronica eyed the two back and forth, "All of that back at the retreat were all just an act?"

"Sorry Veronica. We were undercover." Castle spoke. She laughed and shook her head, "You guys had me. Even the feast? That looked real to me."

Beckett spoke up before Castle got a chance to speak, "Everything wasn't real, Veronica. We had to act like a married couple."

Castle shot a glance over to Beckett, he was slightly hurt and confused. He couldn't determine whether she meant it or not.

They need to talk.

Soon.


	8. Chapter 8

**Sex Therapy**

**A/N: Whether you guys like it or not... There will always be angst. It keeps the story alive, and I don't like it fluffy. So, turn back if you're expecting them to reveal their secret and end up getting together in the next second, with a bunch of babies along the way. Reviews + Feedback's are appreciated... Chapter 9 & 10's are in the works, possible they will be uploaded later tonight to move things along quickly.**

**...**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Castle.**

* * *

><p>[ 5:30 PM 12th Precinct ]<p>

Everyone was back at the precinct straight after the retreat incident. Beckett was preparing for the interrogation, gathering up reports to present against Sebastian, and Veronica. Castle was following her around since they arrived back in the city, there wasn't much for him to do.

"Come on Becks, I promise I won't get in the way." Castle whined, standing next to her at the interrogation door, "I promise I won't say anything!"

"Castle, no." Beckett sighed, "You're a potential victim. Sebastian won't talk if you're in there. You can watch us from the observation room." She walked into the interrogation room, closing the door behind.

Meanwhile, Veronica was waiting in the 2nd interrogation room, sitting, and impatiently waiting.

[ Interrogation #1 Room : Sebastian / Beckett ]

Sebastian in his seat cuffed to the table. It was for safety purposes. He watched Beckett stroll across the room with a beige case folder in her hand, settling down in her seat. He remained silent.

She opened the folder to review his rap sheet, this guy was clean. A few parking tickets, but nothing jumps out at her. "Sebastian, do you know why you're here?" She asked.

"Yeah, I assaulted your 'partner'," he raised his hands as high as he can with the cuffs around his wrists linked to the table, quoting the word in air. "I don't get why I'm being interrogated. Are you here to grill my ass for destroying his face?"

"No," Beckett puts on a minor smirk, "I'm here to ask you some questions about the Adagios. Remember them?"

Sebastian shrugged his shoulders, "Sure, why not?"

"How did you meet them?"

"My wife met them, just like how she met you guys."

She nodded, "Uh huh... Were you guys close?"

"Fuck, no." Sebastian scoffed.

"Then your wife was close to them?"

"Why don't you ask her that? I don't know them."

Beckett intertwined her fingers, "How did your wife act around them?"

He paused before answering, narrowing his eyes at Beckett, "What do you mean by that?"

"Well," she paused for a few seconds, she knew Castle and the boys were watching from behind the glass. She had to choose her words carefully, "Your wife was quite friendly to my partner."

"Define friendly." Sebastian nearly growled.

"She was a flirt. In fact, she was all over my partner."

"No," he shook his head, "That's just how she is. She knows I don't like it, but she keeps it to a minimal flirting for my sake."

"Right." Beckett vaguely remembered Veronica's story, she did cheat on Sebastian with a gardener, but it wasn't her business to tell him that. "She kept it to a minimal flirting around the Adagios then?"

"In a way, I guess so."

"That must have made you angry."

"Look lady, what husband wouldn't be?"

"Right." Beckett turned to face the glass, flicking her hand. It was time to wrap up the interview, and to take him back down to holding. Beckett couldn't ask any more questions without having a solid lead, there was no evidence for her to use against him. Sebastian was just simply being a smart-ass, he held back quite well and remained clam.

[ End Interrogation Scene ]

The detectives and Castle were standing around in a semi-circle formed in the bullpen. Veronica was still waiting in the other room, waiting for something to happen. Castle watched Sebastian being escorted by the uniforms.

Sebastian gave Castle a dirty look before vanishing.

"Sebastian isn't talking. But thanks to Castle," Beckett looked over to Castle, "We have him in holding. He can't go anywhere for now until we come up with something."

"Why do you need him around here?" Esposito asked, he knew they didn't have anything concrete on him.

"I hate to break it to you, Esposito, but Castle had a theory... From the way I've seen him act around Veronica at the retreat, especially Castle, he's got a hell of a temper. Better safe than sorry."

"Veronica's waiting in the room, Becks." Ryan spoke, "You wanted to speak with her."

"Yeah, hopefully we'll know more then." Beckett replied, grabbing a different case file with Veronica's rap sheet. "Castle, you can sit with me this time. Let's show the boys what Veronica's capable of." She smirked.

"God, no..." Castle muttered, following Beckett into the second interrogation room.

Ryan and Esposito looked at each other with a concerned face. They shook it off, walking towards the observation room.

[ Interrogation #2 Room : Veronica / Beckett + Castle ]

"Finally! I've been waiting for like, an hour!" Veronica scoffed, she stood when the two walked in, arms crossing. Clearly frustrated, it hadn't been an hour for her, but it felt like it.

"Sit down." Beckett commanded, taking her seat.

Castle sat next to her.

Veronica scoffed, sitting back in her chair. "The least you could do is like, offer me some magazines, you know? I'm so bored!"

"Veronica."

"Fine, I'll stop. What am I doing here? Is it because of these people I knew?" She asked.

"Yes," Castle answered for Beckett.

"Castle," Beckett said his name before he could talk anymore, giving him the impression to remind him who's the cop around here. It wasn't the first time she had to remind him, and yet Castle still likes to think he's a cop. "You claim to know the victims. How did you know them?"

"At the retreat, duh!" Veronica tapped her fingernails on the metal desk, "They were such nice people though. I can't imagine who would ever want to kill them."

"Veronica, were you a flirt with the two of them?"

"Always!" Veronica grinned, "It's my thing. I flirt as I go along. It makes it all fun! Right Alex?" She winked at Castle.

"My name's not Alex, Veronica." Castle spoke through his clenched teeth.

"Whatever, Alex. I know you enjoyed my flirts."

"No, I-"

"Castle." Beckett lets out a sigh to stop him, "Did you or did you not have an intercourse with the Adagios, Veronica?"

"Excuse me?" Veronica arched her eyebrows.

"You heard the question, Mrs. Hart."

"Why would you even ask me that question? I love my husband."

Beckett grinned, "You love your husband, and yet, you cheated on him with some gardener you once told me. Remember?"

"Gardener...?" Veronica paused for a moment, trying to recall that memory, "Oh! Yes, I told you the story before you guys did a body shot! That was just a one time thing. It's nothing." Veronica shrugged her shoulders.

Castle sucked his lips to quiet himself. This wasn't what Beckett wanted to hear.

Beckett's eyes went wide for a bit._ Shit._ The boys were watching behind the one way mirror. They were still in there, watching, they surely MUST have heard Veronica.

[ Ryan & Esposito ]

At the same time when the two boys hears the term "body shot", they both said it in unison. They shot a glance at each other, scowling.

"See bro, I told you. They're hiding from us." Esposito spoke to Ryan, arms crossed and shaking his head. "They lying to us, man."

Ryan arched an eyebrow, "Huh. Why would Castle lie to us?"

"Don't blame this on Castle. Becks probably threatened him not to tell us." Esposito smirked.

"Yeah, that's Beckett alright."

[ Interrogation #2 Room : Veronica / Beckett + Castle ]

Beckett cleared her throat, "So you never once did anything, ANYTHING in particular at all, with the Adagios?"

"No. Am I free to go? When are you going to cut my husband loose?"

Beckett's cell phone rang, "Excuse me," She got up to receive the call, standing close to the interrogation room door to avoid being heard much.

Castle stared at Veronica as she stared back with another grin, she gave him another wink. Castle scowled at Veronica, god he hated her flirting. He didn't know what was more annoying, her flirts, or her stupid interruptions at the retreat. He thought she was okay at first, but then until then he saw the true side of her. Just creepy.

"Thanks," Beckett hung up. "Veronica, we have a search warrant for your place, and your room at the retreat as well." She walked back over to the table, staring down at Veronica, "We found some clothing fibre on the body. Funny thing is, with the amazing resource we have here, we were able to determine the make of clothing, and I recall seeing you wearing the specific jacket make. With your connection to the Adagios, who knows what we'll find. Is there anything you'd like to say before I head over?"

"...No." Veronica looked stunned. There wasn't anything she could do at this point.

"Then I hope you don't mind spending a bit of time in the cell while we go search." Beckett grinned. She loved the idea of Veronica sitting in a dark, chilling place with bars all around her. For now, it was enough for Beckett to prance around with the vision in her head.

[ End Interrogation Scene ]

Beckett walked out of the room, Ryan and Esposito were waiting for her on the other side, grinning. "What?" She questioned their faces, raising her eyebrows." Castle stood behind Beckett, watching the boys over her shoulder.

"Body shot, huh?" Esposito asked.

"That would have explained the hickey." Ryan continued.

"Yeah, the hickey. Makes total sense." Esposito nodded, he pumped fist Ryan's fist.

_These kids..._ Beckett was defeated, she puts on a small grin, "Nothing else happened. Yes, there was a body shot, but nothing else. Tell Lanie, and I'll kill you two."

Castle was grinning behind Beckett, he didn't want to say anything.

Esposito whistled, "Castle, you dog."

"Okay guys, seriously. Now's not the time to joke around. I need you two to pick up Adam, bring him in for questioning." Beckett rested the envelope on her desk, standing next to Castle. "I will go with the uniforms and search their place."

"You got it boss." Esposito left the two alone with Ryan.

"Castle, go home," She adjusted her head to face Castle, looking at his astonishment face, "You should go home and see Alexis. It's," she checked her watch, "6:20. They're probably waiting for you back at home. Go eat, rest up, and I'll see you in the morning."

"I'd rather go with you." Castle argued.

"Castle, please. This isn't about us right now. I'll call you when something comes up."

Castle sighed. He wasn't going to win this argument. It seemed like she needed to do this on her own. Maybe a bit of space would be substantial between them for the time being. "Don't keep me out of the loop... Oh, uh. I still have your bag in the car, do you want me to leave it here?"

She smiled a little, "Yeah, please leave it under the desk. Thanks Castle, I got to go, good night." She placed a hand on his arm, a gentle touch sliding down the forearm just before she left.

He watched her leave, strolling down the bullpen. The touch on the arm was nice, but the gap between them wasn't._ What is going on?_

* * *

><p>[ 6:32 PM ]<p>

"Dad! You're home!" Alexis ran over to hug Castle tightly the moment he came home. It hasn't been a week, a few days at most, but Alexis was happy to see him again.

Castle laughed softly, "Hey pumpkin, I missed you too."

"Richard, darling. Welcome home." Martha spoke, she was on the kitchen stool, holding a glass of martini in hand.

"Hello mother." Castle dropped the luggage on the floor next to the door, heading over to the kitchen with Alexis by his side, his arm around her shoulder as she has hers around his waist. "Everything's good?"

"Of course. Alexis and I had a few fabulous night together. We shopped, watched movies, cook together. I think you should go out more often."

Alexis looked up to Castle, shaking her head a bit with her eyes widening.

_Clearly mother must have made Alexis turn into her own personal bartender._ "That's not going to happen anytime soon, mother." Castle lets go of Alexis, sitting on the stool next to Martha.

"Did you guys catch the killer?" Alexis asked.

"No, not yet. Kate told me to go home and rest. I'll go back to the precinct tomorrow morning. Do we have any leftovers? I'm famished." Castle was about to get off the stool, but Alexis stopped him.

"Dad, let me grab you a plate. You rest." She smiled, wandering around the island to the fridge.

"Thanks pumpkin." Castle smirked, looking at Martha who was giving him a concerned look. "What?"

Martha kept her voice low around Alexis, she could hear Martha speaking, but Alexis pretended to not hear a peep, "Richard, is there something you'd like to tell me?"

"No mother."

Martha tilted her head, she was still wearing the worried look on her face, "I don't know what it is you're not telling me, but whatever it is, I hope you know what you're doing."

"I am, mother... Trust me. We just caught a few lucky break with the case, there was no point in staying at the retreat. We decided to head back into the city, and take it from there."

"Alright darling, whatever you say." She took a sip of her martini.

Castle had thought of saying something to mother, she would give him a handful of advice and help him through this, but decided it was better to wait for Beckett and Castle to talk and go from there.

* * *

><p>[ 7:26 PM ]<p>

"Found it." A male officer shouted over to Beckett, holding up the brown minx jacket.

"Bag it, thanks." Beckett felt relieved when the officer found it. The search warrant continued, hoping to find the murder weapon. Though, they would be stupid enough to keep a gun around in their room, it's still worth checking.

By the end of the search, the place was a mess, a few items taken including the jacket. Beckett left the room for the uniforms to pack up and leave the place. She spoke with Arthur to fill him in, then she was on her way out of the retreat. Few couples in the hallways with curiosity, none of them dared to ask Beckett what was happening around here.

Courtney was waiting in the lobby, she was at the receptionist desk when she spotted Beckett coming through. "Excuse me." She spoke to the receptionist, stepping away to make her way over to Beckett, "Oh, Detective Beckett?"Courtney shouted loud enough to stop her.

Beckett stopped just before she opened the lobby door, she turned to the familiar voice, "Courtney? Hey, uh, how did you know my name?" She walked further away from the door to meet up with her, closing the distance.

She laughed, "Detective Beckett, I was informed that the two of you left the premises. When the two of you signed out, obviously I got the call, and I had to change my schedule around. The receptionist told me you were here, so I just had to come and see you in case we lose touch. Did Richard tell you?"

"...N-no. What did Castle say?" She raised her eyebrows in confusion.

"Why do you refer him to his last name?" Courtney didn't intend to change the topic, but she noticed it.

"Never mind that, Courtney. What did Castle say?"

"I promised I wouldn't tell you in terms of the two of you being undercover, but now that's out-of-the-way. I told Richard earlier that I made you two." Courtney held up a hand when she saw Beckett was about to speak, "Don't get me wrong, it's neither of your fault. I put the pieces together, I have read his books, and it was obvious that you two were not married." Courtney smiled, "It was actually very good acting. Although if it wasn't for the kiss, I probably wouldn't have noticed it much."

Beckett laughed nervously, "Oh god, did you say anything to him about what we talked about, anything at all?"

"Goodness, Katherine. Whether you're married or not, with me, the doctor-patient confidentiality still applies. Tell me, did you guys have a chance to talk at all?"

"...No. I tried, but I got interrupted."

Courtney took a deep sigh, "Katherine Beckett, I thought you would be the type of woman to make things happen. What happened, if you don't mind me asking?"

"The case got in the way of things. Ever since we got here, it's always been in the way of things. I told Castle we're better off talking once we wrap this up. I'll take him out for a drink then."

"Ah well, don't wait too long, Katherine." Courtney checked her watch instantly, "I'll let you get going, it was a pleasure knowing you. I wish you the best of luck." She held out her hand.

"Thank you for everything." Beckett shook Courtney's hand.

"You're more than welcome to call me if you need any advice. Whether it's sexual or relationship." Courtney winked with a warm smile.

Beckett laughed, "I doubt we'd ever need it, but thanks I'll keep that in mind." She turned towards the lobby door, walking.

"Katherine," Courtney almost forgot something.

"Yeah?" Beckett turned her head to face her way, she didn't come closer this time.

"It's not really my place to say, but... It's better to tell him because if he finds out the other way around, it's not going to pleasant."

"...Castle told you."

"He doesn't know you remembered, but he's always been waiting for you... Good night, Katherine."

* * *

><p>[ 8:41 PM ]<p>

After an hour drive back into the city, Beckett wasn't feeling tired. She slept in late this morning, still wired from the caffeine intake she had earlier. Something almost happened between the two of them on the floor. She wouldn't have cared if their first time happened on the floor, as long as they were together, but it didn't happen. On the quiet journey over, she thought a lot about what Courtney said. Beckett wasn't angry with the fact that Castle failed to mention Courtney finding out, it wasn't a big deal.

Lanie received the evidence moments before Beckett arrived at the morgue, it wasn't going to take long for her to compare the clothing fibre. Beckett swung the metal doors of the morgue, walked through and spotting Lanie on her computer, "Hey Lanie." She spoke on the way over, standing behind her.

Lanie jumped when she heard the doors opened, it was late night, it could have been anybody else walking through these doors. She peeked over her shoulder, "Girl, you scared me... Heard you're back." Turned in her chair to face Beckett, "What's going on?"

"Wanted to see where we are on the lab result on the fibre. Please tell me it's a match."

"Not until you tell me why you're back early. Did something happen with the writer-boy?"

"What? No, no!"

Lanie arched her eyebrows.

"Seriously, there was no point in staying. We got some solid leads, we need the resources around here to wrap up the case."

"You lying to me, girl. You remember the talk we had? All the things you'd do to Castle, what happened to any of it? Don't tell me you two slept in the same bed and nothing happened."

Beckett groaned, "Is it a match?"

"Yes." Lanie held the report paper to Beckett, she gave in to Beckett. Obviously she wasn't in the mood to deal with Lanie's 20 questions game.

"Thank you, Lanie." Beckett grabbed the report before leaving the morgue. She wasn't ready to tell Lanie. Beckett felt guilty lying to her, but she needed to sustain this to herself for the time being.

* * *

><p>[ 8:58 PM ]<p>

"Hey Becks," Ryan spoke, strolled through the bullpen with Esposito by his side, nearing Beckett's desk, "We couldn't find Adam, we put out an APB. Hopefully we'll get a hit soon."

"Alright, thanks." Beckett arrived at her desk shortly before the boys came back, "I need you guys to prep Veronica, the clothing fibre's a match."

"I'll get her." Esposito left the two alone.

Ryan looked around, someone was missing, "Where's Castle?"

"I sent him home, I think we can manage just fine without him tonight."

"Was wondering... Hey, mind if I call it a night? Jenny needs me home for something."

Beckett nodded with a smile, "Sure, I'll see you in the morning then."

"Thanks, take it easy." Ryan smiled before leaving her alone.

Esposito came up to the bullpen with Veronica in cuffs. She looked distraught, a few hours in the cell was horrid enough for Veronica to deal with. Unfortunately for Veronica, she had to share the cell with two other butch women. It wasn't pleasant. Esposito walked Veronica into the interrogation room, taking the handcuffs off once she settles down in her seat.

Beckett walked in the interrogation room with the same case envelope in hand, except this time, she's got a handful of lead. She sat down, watching Esposito take the cuffs off.

Veronica rubbed her wrist, giving Esposito a death stare.

Esposito wasn't afraid of the blonde, sitting down next to Beckett.

"So, am I free to go yet?" Veronica asked.

Beckett smiled, "Oh no. I'm afraid not."

"Veronica, it's up to you. You can tell us the truth, and we'll put in a good word that you cooperated with us." Esposito continued.

Veronica laughed, "What the hell are you guys talking about? I haven't done anything. I'm not a killer!"

"I didn't say anything." Beckett replied, "But the evidence doesn't lie. You've been lying to me." She took out the lab report, sliding it towards Veronica, "See here, that's your brown minx jacket. It's a perfect match to the one found on the body. You've got some explaining to do."

_Busted._

Veronica took a deep sigh, "Oh god, no. This isn't what it looks like. You'll have to believe me, Katherine!"

"It's Detective Beckett to you." Beckett corrected her, in complete control.

"Uh, sorry Detective Beckett... But I didn't kill them! I did see... them... at their place. They gave me their address, so I could stop by and pick up where we left off."

"Which is what exactly?"

Veronica sulked back in her chair, now she was too embarrassed to say this. She was in a freaking police station. She rubbed her arm tenderly, head down, full of shame.

"Alright Esposito, you can take her back. We'll progress the murder charge." Beckett was bluffing, she always baited suspects into talking, and it almost works every damn time. She raised from the seat, closing up the case folder to make it more convincing for Veronica to see. Esposito did the same.

"No!" Veronica sat up straight, "Wait! Please, I didn't kill them!"

Esposito took his seat and leaned, arms crossing over his chest. He remained hushed, this was Beckett's collar.

"You're going to have to come up with something a lot more than that to convince me." Beckett sat back down, scooting the chair closer.

Veronica didn't speak, she was trying to find the right words to say. Her mouth opening several times to speak, but nothing came.

"Well?" It was getting late, Beckett wanted to go home to a long hot bath, and Veronica was getting their nerves. Esposito wanted to go home as well, needing his good night of sleep after a long day.

"Okay, just... You guys have to believe me, I didn't kill them. I did have... an intercourse with them, but I left right after we were done, I swear!"

"Start from the beginning." Beckett liked seeing this whole new side of Veronica, with her being on the other side of the table, Beckett was in complete control of her, and it felt fantastic to be in authority over this floozy human being.

Veronica took a deep sigh, "Alright... I first met them at the retreat. They were friendly, we all got along nicely. By the end of their week stay, I got a bit involved with them sexually. It wasn't until the last day they slipped me an address to their place, told me I could come by, and we'd have some more fun."

"Did Sebastian know any of this?"

"Oh god, no. I never told my husband. Detective, it is wrong to cheat... Believe me, I know, but at the time I didn't care. Things between Sebastian and I were falling apart, and I needed to be with someone intimately. Robert and Alicia were there for me, they knew I was cheating, but they never judged me for what I did. One night, I told Sebastian I was going to see another couple at the retreat for a few hours, just to their room and hang."

"But you went to see the Adagios instead."

"Yes, I slipped past the guard. Had my car keys with me, I went to see them, had intercourse and left. That's all, I swear to you, Detective Beckett."

"Wait," Beckett paused, "How did you get past? Don't they have video surveillance in the area?"

Veronica smiled, "When you're at the retreat for so long, you get used to it. There's always a back door."

"There's only the surveillance both inside and outside of the lobby door, Beckett." Esposito joined in, "I had the place checked out, there was nothing. They had the cameras off for the sake of couples privacy."

"Thanks Esposito," Beckett looked back to Veronica, "Did you see the landlord at their apartment?"

"Y-yes, I don't remember him much, why?"

"We believe he may be connected to all this. Turns out he used to work at the retreat as a guard. You say you're used to the place, right?"

"Yeah."

"How about the staffs? Are you familiar with most of them?"

Veronica shook her head, "Detective, it's quite a large facility. I don't know everyone, but I do know a few staffs. I've never seen the landlord before that night, I'm sorry. Do you think he killed them?"

"There's no accusation here, Veronica. I'm going to have to keep you here overnight. You understand why I can't let you go? You were there at the night of the murder, we have evidence here to prove it, and I can't risk allowing you to run away."

Esposito got up, prepared the cuffs he took off the belt, walking around the table to Veronica.

"You can't possibly put me in the same room with these two women down there. They scared the hell out of me, Detective, please." Veronica stood up with her hands behind, Esposito was cuffing her wrists together.

Beckett remained in her seat, shrugging her shoulders once, "Better not annoy the hell out of them then."

"K-Kate? Detective Beckett!" Veronica whined as Esposito dragged her out of the interrogation room. Her annoying voice echoed on the way out, crying out several fruitless threats.

Beckett stretched her arms back with a grin on her face. This was a good night, watching Veronica squirm like that. Oh the exit act was music to her ears.

It was time for Beckett and Esposito to go home. Castle was going to have to wait til morning.

* * *

><p>[ 9:24 AM - Precinct ]<p>

Beckett didn't have a decent night of sleep. With Veronica being scurried away in handcuffs, she thought that was going to be enough to help her sleep peacefully at night, but it didn't. It got worse without Castle, things weren't solved. If she hadn't been involved with him at the retreat, her sleeping patterns would have continued in a flow, but it didn't. Though she did managed to get some shut-eye for a decent hour or two in bed.

_Coffee... I need coffee._

She yawned with her backhand covering her wide mouth, sitting at her desk with paperwork in front of her. No sign of Castle yet, nor her morning coffee. Has she been relying on him for coffee in the morning? Beckett wasn't lazy, but she knew their usual morning routine, it would be a waste for her to get some when he could be here anytime.

_Any day now, Castle..._

Gates peeked out of her office, "Detective Beckett, can I see you in my office?" She didn't wait for Beckett to answer nor move her ass, she headed back inside of her own office, taking her seat.

Beckett got up from her chair, she turned to walk without any alertness, almost walked right into Castle while he was standing beside her. She wasn't aware of him coming to the bullpen at all, jumping back a bit, "Whoa, Castle."

Castle's busy hands with their morning coffee cups, he held them up in the air when Beckett almost walked into him, preventing the possibility of spilling them all over Beckett's clothing, "Hey, whoa." He chuckled, "You good?"

_That smile kills me._ Beckett couldn't help but stare at his charming smile in the morning, somehow just by looking at it brightened her morning. She couldn't say anything else to Castle; instead she took the coffee cup and walked around him, heading towards Gates office without a word.

He watched her leave him._ That was weird._ If only he was an expert at decoding expressions, he wouldn't be so damn confused all the time around Beckett. She truly is a mysterious woman.

* * *

><p>Beckett took a large sip before entering upon Gates' office, she needed some caffeine in her body to jump-start, "Sir, you wanted to see me?" Holding the cup down by her side.<p>

"Yes, why are you back here? You still have a few days left of vacation. You do realize that you are here voluntarily?"

"I'm sorry sir, but we came up with solid leads, and there wasn't any point in staying there. I'd rather catch the killer, voluntarily or not."

"That's your choice to make, Detective Beckett. Where are we on the case so far?"

"We are bringing in a suspect, Ryan and Esposito left earlier this morning to pick him up. Uniforms caught him using the ATM. Once he gets here, I'm hoping he will break the case wide open. I believe he is our best chance." Beckett continues, "If it wasn't for Castle, we wouldn't have noticed the suspect."

"Good work, keep me informed."

"Thank you, sir."

"How did the therapy go?"

"Excuse me?" Beckett raised her eyebrows, wrinkling her forehead.

Gates continued, "The sex therapy, did you two resolve anything?"

"... Uh," she cleared her throat, "I'm sorry sir, but why does this concern you?"

"I may be 'Iron' Gates, but I do have compassion for people. I wonder because as your boss, I'll need to know if the two of you are dating. Like I said earlier this week, anything intimate between the two of you can't happen in my precinct, understand?"

"I understand, sir."

"Is that a yes or no then?" Gates asked.

"We're not dating."

"Fine. Better hope I don't catch the two of you smacking somewhere on your valuable time."

"It won't happen." Beckett took that as a cue to leave the office thoroughly and returned to her desk. Castle was sitting next to the desk, drinking his coffee and checking his cell phone.

"Hey Castle." She sat down in her seat, rolling the chair closer to the desk, "How are Martha and Alexis?"

"Good. Alexis missed me. Apparently mother had my poor little girl mixing cocktails for her while I was away, Alexis was relieved to see me home, now that she doesn't have to do anything else for my dreadful mother... And put up with her bringing men home." Castle shuddered.

She laughed a bit, "Martha isn't so bad, Castle. Alexis however, she's great."

"She really is." He smiled, catching Beckett's gaze. There was silence between the two of them for a brief moment until Castle speaks up, "Hey... What happened yesterday?"

"Oh," Beckett broke the contact, "Uh, the clothing fibre was a match. Esposito and I questioned Veronica, she gave in, but she's not our killer. She spent the night in the cell, Ryan and Esposito went to pick up Adam. We got a hit on the APB this morning, I'm still waiting for them to come back."

"Did Veronica do the deed with the victims then? Did she go into any gruesome details?"

"Castle." She rolled her eyes with a grin, "She was involved, but she spared me the details."

"Damn it."

"If you're so desperate to know, you're more than welcome to take a trip and ask her yourself, but please leave me out of it. The less I know, the better I live in peace."

Castle laughed a bit, "Did you at least have a nice night at home?"

"Yeah, it was okay." She shrugged her shoulders, not wanting to tell him how she hadn't slept much without Castle. That was something she wasn't willing to share with, it was too personal. "It was nice to run a bath, sleep in my own bed and wake up without you disturbing me." Her eyes focused on the paperwork in front of her, jotting down some notes.

"Aw, come on. Now I know you didn't mean that!" Castle leaned over closer to Beckett with a fair distance between them, whispering, "At least that's not what your body was telling me."

Beckett's eyes shifted up, staring at the computer screen when she heard him, it got her hot. With the case, she kept herself busy enough to slip away from those thoughts. They weren't her imagination, every moment was real, and it was unbelievably exciting. Slowly turned in her chair, her eyes met with his gaze but automatically stared straight down to Castle's lips, they were certainly kissable this morning, even with her lack of sleep, her body was ready to respond to his enticing lips. Beckett kept her eyes there for a few more seconds with her lower lip in between her teeth, nibbling.

Castle loved her reaction to that, it was obvious she was aching for some intimate contact, but it wasn't going to happen in the precinct, at least not out here when it's wide open for others to see. He whispers again, "_I want you._"

Beckett fluttered her eyelashes to snap back to reality, her eyes meeting with his gaze again. Has she truly been staring at his lips the whole time? "Oh Jesus, Castle." Beckett had a bit of a willpower left in her, she forced herself to break the gaze and lean back in her chair. Castle's words were making her hot, but Gates' words popped in her head. Lucky for Beckett, she was lucid enough to remember they're at the precinct.

He continued to dwell in his place, watching Kate before leaning back in his own seat. "Sorry."

"Don't be." She took her coffee cup, taking another sip, "We'd talk later, remember?"

"Yeah, I mean... I shouldn't have come on like that." His voice was slightly hushed, keeping things quietly between the two of them. Nobody heard them.

"Castle, it's fine."

_**Ding**_

Ryan and Esposito pranced through the elevator sliding doors with Adam Hill, A.K.A the landlord/guard, walking in between the two detectives, cuffed behind his back. Adam didn't look pleased to see the inside of the police station.

"Got him, Becks. Hey Castle." Ryan shouted, he continued his way over to the interrogation room with the two.

"Great." Beckett stood up, "Coming?" She took the case envelope into her arm, leaving her desk area over to the interrogation room. Castle got up, following her.

Esposito and Ryan left the interrogation room before Beckett and Castle walked in, "We'll be on the other side." Esposito announced.

* * *

><p><span>[ Interrogation #1 Room : Adam  Beckett + Castle ]

"Morning Adam, remember us?" Beckett sat down across from Adam with Castle by her side in his own place.

Adam was slightly shook up, his hands shaking slightly. "Y-yeah, I remember you two at my building."

Beckett looked over his records in the folder, he was clean. She noticed the trembling hands, "Why are you nervous? We're only here to ask you some questions."

"I-I'm sorry, Detective," Adam cleared his throat, he clasped both hands together to settle the trembling a bit, "I've never been arrested before. Your guys scared me while I was taking out my money, I thought I was getting robbed." He lets out a nervous chuckle, "Pretty nice, huh?"

"Don't worry Adam, it's a common reaction. Do you know why you're here?" She asked.

"Y-yeah, the Adagios?"

"In your report from the day of murder, it says you knew them for years. How did you manage to know them for years, and yet you got fired at the exact retreat they went to? Explain something here, Chad."

Adam took a deep breather, "Oh god..."

"You know, we were pretty lucky to have found your photograph under an alias, otherwise if we didn't, you would have gotten away with murder." Beckett entwined her fingers on the table.

"It is a pretty smart move, Adam." Castle joined in, "Though the question remains, why kill them?"

"I didn't!" Adam shouted, he startled Castle. Beckett didn't jump, but she snapped her attention utterly at him. Adam cooled down, "Sorry... I-I didn't mean to shout. I didn't kill them. I knew them as tenants for years. It's true that they were two amazing people I knew..." His attention drifted away, pausing.

"That's still not good enough, Adam." Beckett spoke in a firm voice.

Adam came back to Beckett, "Robert came to me with some marriage issues. All I did was to recommend the place, I swear. I did, but I didn't tell him I was living under a false identity."

"So, while the two of them were there," Castle licked his lips, "They caught you, turned you in and you lost the job."

"No, that's not what happened."

"And with Veronica seeing the Adagios that night, it was the perfect set up. With her bodily fluids in the room, all you had to do was to step in and take care of it. Got a bad temper, huh Adam? You weren't making enough money to keep up with the building mortgage? Is that it? You lost it your temper."

"No..."

"No, what Adam?" Beckett might have come on too strong, she made him stutter a little, she didn't mean to scare the hell out of him, but it gets the job done. The innocent ones are usually the ones to actually surprise her in some cases. Adam was a man struggling to make amends, and one day, he snapped.

Adam gulped hard, "I'm afraid you're not going to believe what I say, Detective."

"Try us." Castle spoke.

"I work a short shift at the retreat... I didn't make a lot of friends, I'm a quiet guy. But there was this one guy... Uh, it's the woman's husband, Sebastian." Adam paused to take a proper look on their faces, they didn't seem surprised at all, "Anyway, I frequent the hallways as a guard, Sebastian knew of my money problems, he paid me a few hundreds to keep an eye out on his wife."

"Veronica?" Beckett asked.

"Ye-yeah, Veronica. That woman... She was whoring around. Sebastian didn't want to believe it, but he said, he said..." Adam took a deep breath, "their marriage wasn't going well, and he wanted to know what was up with Veronica."

"Did you find anything out?"

" You mean did I catch them doing something? No... I didn't, but they were together a lot, like_ a lot._ But Robert caught me staring at them constantly." Adam laughed a bit, "I wasn't doing a very good job on spying. Robert caught me staring, he knew me well, he kept asking me why I was trailing them around all the time... I couldn't say anything, I was so ashamed of backstabbing them."

"How did you get fired then?"

"Well..." Adam shifted in his seat, "I never gave in, but I think... that Veronica woman heard that I was snooping around, she was afraid I'd catch them doing something. She went to the head manager, and that's how I got fired. The Robert I know wouldn't do that to me. I don't think Alicia would either..."

Beckett leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms, "Why the new identity then?"

"Oh, that's old news. I faked the identity for some time back in the younger days to frequent the bars... I used it again because some of the places wouldn't hire me. I have the landlord title attached to my ass, they didn't want someone with a full-time job. Honestly, it's hardly a full-time job... people at my building hardly complain, I get things done, and nothing breaks down for a while. I got behind on the bills, I needed it the money."

"Alright then. So, what happened after you got fired? You claimed that you saw a 'blonde' on the night of the murder. Was that Veronica?"

"Yes."

"Why didn't you tell us in the first place that you knew her then?"

"Because..." Adam groaned a little, he rubbed his forehead with his fingers, "Screw it... I- uh... Sebastian came to me when I got fired, he somehow heard. Like I said, I think it's Veronica. She must have told him about me... Anyways, he knew the Adagios' schedule, he knew they were going to leave the retreat soon, and I was their landlord. He knew all of it while we were making conversation."

"Why did you tell a complete stranger all of that?" Castle asked his eyebrows furrowing.

Adam switched his attention to Castle, "I'm a lonely guy. I don't socialize much... I tend to say a lot when I meet someone friendly, or at least he was friendly enough to listen to me... but he used me. Sebastian came to me with an offer. He said to keep an eye out for her."

"How did he know then?" Castle said.

"Sebastian told me Veronica was going out a lot at night... but with the Adagios leaving, he figured she might take a trip. And boy, he was right... The damn woman flirted with me to get through, she didn't recognize me from the place at all... Sebastian said he'd pay me two grand to call him, and inform him on her whereabouts."

"Now wait a minute," Beckett said, "I thought it was a strictly no cell phone policy."

Adam lets out a short laugh, "Lady, a lot of people smuggled their cell phones into their rooms. I wouldn't be surprised if Sebastian did too. It's crazy how people these days are emotionally attached to their cell phones."

Beckett turned her head to look at Castle with a grin.

Castle looked at Beckett for a second, he turned his head to Adam, but snapping back at Beckett, "...What? I'm not emotionally attached to my cell phone."

"Sure, Castle... Anyways," Beckett came back to Adam, "She came, you called, then he came?"

"Yes ma'am... but he never paid me, not a dime of it."

"Why didn't you come forward with us?" Castle asked.

Adam sighed, "I didn't know why he was there for. I saw Veronica left, and when she did, Sebastian came in. He asked me for their room number, I gave it away, and that was the last I saw of him."

Beckett ruffled through the report in the folder, "Nobody heard the gunshots, he used a silencer. Did you see him leave?"

"No ma'am... Uhm... I didn't come forward because when one of my tenant came to me that something was stinking from their room, I panicked... I couldn't tell you guys because with my connection to the retreat, with Sebastian... I was afraid I'd get set up, or worse... Sebastian would come and kill me."

"Yeah, but you shouldn't have held out on us, Adam. Because now you look like an accomplice for murder." Beckett sighing

"That's never a good thing." Castle shook his head a bit.

Beckett pouted her lips, scowling her face, "What surprised me is that he didn't offer to pay you to keep your mouth shut?"

"No, no... He didn't. I mean, who knows if he really did it? Maybe he thought it would make him look less guilty if he never threatened me? I get easily scared anyways. I've seen these things happen in movies, one peep, and you're done." Adam began to protest.

"Except Sebastian isn't exactly a superman. For all we know he might have done it spite out of anger and jealously. If you came forward, things would have gone smoothly. I could have protected you., Adam. I will put in a good word for you if you could just sign the confession."

Adam nodded his head abruptly in agreement, rubbing his arms with both hands. "S-Sebastian will go to jail, right?"

"If we get a confession out of him, he will, but I'm afraid we don't have any evidence on him. We have you as a reliable witness, but in some cases, it's never enough." Beckett closed the folder, "I'll get you the paper to sign." She got up from her seat, opened the door to find an uniform standing next to it, inviting him in to standby while Beckett grabs the confession paperwork.

The confession was signed.

* * *

><p>"Poor guy." Castle spoke, sitting slightly on top of Beckett's desk with his legs dangling. Beckett, Ryan, and Esposito were standing close to Castle, all watched Adam in cuffs, walking out of sight with an officer next to him. Not once Adam looked at the detectives.<p>

"Yeah, there's not much I can do here." Beckett replied, still holding the case folders in her arms.

"I'll get Sebastian." Esposito spoke, "Let's wrap this up."


	9. Chapter 9

**Sex Therapy**

**A/N: This chapter is now going into the 47 seconds episode, if you haven't seen the episode yet, please stop reading. This is a fairly short chapter, I wrote a couple of noteworthy scenes from the episode to move the story along.**

**Remember, this is fiction. Things will happen differently in my way, but don't worry, I didn't change a single thing for the 47 sec episode, kept it the way it was.**

**In my version, the Limey case never happened, nor did the Headhunters. Needed to clear that up for you guys, and no, there isn't the Scotland Detective either.**

**On another note: I had no intention to include the 47 sec episode, but I feel that it's a great filler in the story. I love me a bit of angst. Already written the next two chapters, but can't decide whether I'd want to upload right away... Hmm-mm.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Castle.**

* * *

><p><span>[ Interrogation Room #1 Sebastian  Beckett ]

Sebastian Hart was back in the interrogation room. Castle stood in the observation room, eyeing every move Sebastian makes through the one way mirror, watching how he looks at things around the interrogation room, and the cuffs on his wrists in front of him attached to the table. So close to wrapping the case up, Castle thought. So close to the fact that Beckett and Castle will eventually have a chance to talk. That is, he'll ask her out to someplace more private, go for dinner, and clear things up for good.

Beckett came into the interrogation room, she kept her eyes on his as she closed the door behind, making her way towards the empty chair to sit. "I met an interesting friend of yours, Sebastian."

Sebastian stared at Beckett, pretending to chew something in his mouth, leaning back and trying to stay cool. He didn't ask.

"His name is Chad Weswick. Ring a bell?"

"No."

"This might jog your memory," Beckett swiped out a photograph of Adam Hill out of the folder, sliding it over towards Sebastian, "You might have known him as Adam Hill. He claimed to have met you at the retreat."

Sebastian shrugged his shoulders, "Seen him once or twice around. He's not a friend of mine."

"That's funny. Adam said the two of you made conversation. He said you were a good listener. Why should I believe you, and not him?" She asked.

"I don't know, I don't care about some guard."

"Maybe not, but you cared enough to know what your wife was up to."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"What I mean is that, you paid Adam to spy on your wife. You knew she was up to something. All you had to do was to find the weakest link, and that was Adam." Beckett wasn't going to tell the story at once, she needed to break it down, so she could observe his reaction to her words. It's all about the reaction.

"So what? Who cares if I paid some cheap chap to spy on my wife."

_On the right track._ "No, it got him fired. Thanks to you, you ruined a man's job, but that didn't stop you from offering him up a new deal. Is that it?"

"Don't know what you're talking about." Sebastian shrugged.

"Really? I've got Adam's confession right here. Says here that you bribed him to keep an eye out on Veronica. You had your suspicions about Veronica. You knew Adam's connection to the Adagios, you couldn't help but wonder something might happen. Veronica goes out a lot, and most of the time you have no idea where she goes."

"That's always been the case with my wife, Detective. She goes out almost every night. What's your point?"

"My point is that one night, Adam saw your wife, and he needed the money, so he called you up."

Sebastian narrowed his eyes, not saying anything else.

"You came down to see Veronica..." Beckett paused to look at his reaction, "What? Were you expecting to catch her with the Adagios?" Beckett pouted her lips, "You know what I think? I think when you got there, Adam told you Veronica wasn't there anymore, but you insisted on seeing them."

Sebastian kept his mouth shut.

Beckett shrugged her shoulders, "I mean, why not? With that kind of anger going around, you must have felt the need to relief some of that satisfaction."

"So what are you saying, Detective? That I shot them? Is that what you're saying?" He asked.

"You tell me."

Sebastian laughed, "You have no proof. All you got is some poor ol' landlord as a witness. I don't think so, Detective. I'd like my lawyer."

Beckett mushed her lips together towards the corner of her mouth, pouting with a mild smirk. "And you shall." She got up, putting everything back away into the case folder, closing it up. "Oh by the way, your wife confessed to sleeping around."

"Had my suspicions." Sebastian smirked, the bait wasn't going to work on him. "The bitch's not worth the money."

"Good luck in trial." Beckett smirked. It wasn't a winning situation, but Sebastian didn't deny a single thing as she narrated the story. Unfortunately there wasn't any hard evidence other than the witness's testimony. This one was out of her hands for good.

[ End Interrogation ]

* * *

><p>"What happens to Veronica?" Castle asked.<p>

"She will have to go on trial as well." Beckett spoke, back at her desk in her chair. Esposito and Ryan were back in their seats, finishing up their paperwork. "We couldn't find the murder weapon, without it, there isn't much we can do."

"Yeah... Uh, Kate? Now the case's over, do you want to grab some dinner with me tonight?" He hinted, needing the discussion to happen as soon as possible.

Beckett smiled, looking at him with a nod, "Sure Castle. I'd like that."

It was about damn time, and she didn't turn him down either. It was a good sign.

* * *

><p>Couple hours passed into paperwork, wrapping up the case and notifying the DA on the case. Castle was in and out of the precinct, grabbing some lunch for the gang, and bringing in some coffee. Things were slow at the precinct.<p>

Until the phones started ringing like crazy on everyone's desks, especially Beckett's. Esposito, Ryan and Beckett looked around at everyone with confusion, the phones were off the hook. Something crucial was happening. Castle joined in on the outlook, his heart elevated, he didn't like the fact that everyone's phones were ringing. When something like that happens, it was never a good thing.

Beckett narrowed her eyes at the phone, picking it up to answer, "Detective Beckett."

Everyone else started answering their phones. Gates stormed out of the office, rushing to the elevator to meet with a FBI agent coming out of the elevator. It was all happening so fast.

Beckett's eyes widened as she listened in, her eyes meeting with Castle, "... OK, thanks." She hung up the phone, "Castle... There was a bombing." She got up, catching Gates strolling into the elevator with the agent, Gates left without a public announcement. Gates knew her people were going to be informed through the phone calls, words do get around fast, and she needed to be on site ASAP.

"We got to go!" Esposito shouted over to the others, jogging over to the elevator, Ryan following him.

This case was unquestionably inevitable. Beckett hurried over after sliding her jacket on, "Come on, Castle."

* * *

><p>"This is unbelievable..." Castle spoke, walking next to Beckett through the major traumatic event. Bodies on the ground, burnt to crisp, several people injured seeking medical care next to the ambulances. Things were chaotic, people were running all over the place to try handle the situation. Castle continues, "Any idea how many people were killed?"<p>

"Initial reports say five dead, 28 injured." Beckett responded.

"There's feds everywhere."

"Yeah, well, that's a normal procedure in the event of a bomb."

"There's nothing normal about this."

Both continue to walk, passing by a bunch of reporters, but one shouted out to Beckett, "Detective, do the police know who's behind this? Do they think this was a terrorist attack?"

Beckett pointed to the reporters, "No comment. You'll have to deal with press relations." She turned away from the reporters, pausing to look at the dead bodies. This was a total shocker, she's never been the one to deal with this kind of event. She was a detective, not part of the FBI, but she was called along with others to come by the scene. Beckett lifted the yellow tape over her head to approach the crime scene closer.

"Excuse me." FBI agent held up his hand to stop Beckett.

"Oh, sorry. NYPD." Beckett flashed her badge.

"NYPD's over there." The agent spoke, commanding her to leave the area at once. "FBI has taken jurisdiction of the crime scene."

"Thanks." Her lips thinned, turning to Castle, "Come on, Castle." Beckett continued to walk away, but Castle stayed in place with a stunned expression, staring at a specific body lying on the ground. He's never been so shocked before to see this. Soon following Beckett, this was no place for him to lurk around without authority by his side.

"FBI turned you guys away too, huh?" Esposito asked.

"Yeah, they wouldn't let us past the crime scene tape." Beckett said.

"What's going on?" Castle asked.

Ryan speaking, "Gates is talking to the feds, trying to get a handle on that."

"What do we know about the explosion, who set it off?" Beckett asked.

"Well, it probably wasn't a suicide bomber. I got a friend who's a medic, said that there were no explosive vests on any of the bodies." Esposito answered.

"Everything else is just a rumour at this point." Ryan continued.

Gates came up to the group, "Listen up, people. We're still piecing together what happened here. But what I can tell you... FBI and Homeland Security will be taking point on this investigation. NYPD will act in a support capacity. Our first assignment is to determine if any of the victims were targeted because of their involvement in the protest. Uniforms are bringing families to the precinct as we speak, so... let's go hold some hands and do our jobs." Gates leaving the company.

* * *

><p>Castle came by the next day after a stressful night at the precinct, everyone was working hard, but Castle took Alexis home early when she was on her internship in the morgue with Lanie. Alexis was extremely upset to deal with the bombing victims. Castle brought two coffee towards Beckett with a soft smile, "Hey." Settling the cups down.<p>

Beckett glanced up, looking at Castle, she returned the smile, "Hey. Thanks."

"Yeah, you got a sec?" He asked, settling down in his chair.

Beckett took the coffee cup, placing it elsewhere on the desk, "Yeah, what's up?"

"Um... I've been thinking... about the victims and... all the opportunities they'll never have..." Castle met with her worrying eyes, she was listening carefully to what he has to say, "And I don't want that to happen. I've been..."

"Beckett." Ryan spoke, interrupting the two, "We got something." Ryan quickly left them alone.

"Um..." Beckett spoke, turning to look back at Castle. She got the idea of what he was saying, she felt the same, and she didn't want to miss out the opportunities either.

"It's okay. It can wait til after the case." Castle responded with a smile, hiding the disappointment. Another shitting timing to talk.

Beckett nodded, she wasn't too pleased with Ryan interrupting them, but the bombing case was far much more important to deal with at the time. She got up from her chair, walking away from Castle to attend Ryan.

Castle took a deep sigh._ Goddamn..._ He got up to follow them shortly after Beckett left.

* * *

><p>Castle went home for a bit, coming by the precinct a bit later. Beckett was looking at the murder board, sitting on the edge of the desk. She switched her gaze over to the empty chair, staring at it into distance with her scowling face.<p>

Ryan came by, he watched Beckett staring at the chair, he wasn't sure what was on her mind, but he had to interrupt her, "We got a line on the guy." Ryan spoke, taking down the sketch photograph of the possible suspect.

"Someone I.D'ed the sketch?" Beckett asked, snapping her attention to Ryan.

"Yeah," Ryan continues, "A protester named Jenni Klein, says she knows this guy as Bobby."

"And there's no last name?"

"No, but this Bobby invited her over once. She knows where he lives." Ryan grinning, it was a good break.

* * *

><p>The detectives caught Bobby coming out of the apartment, arresting him on location. The next thing Bobby knew, he was in the interrogation room with Detective Beckett across from the table. Beckett was speaking to Bobby about himself for a bit. Castle came through the bullpen with coffee, not finding Beckett at her desk. He asked Esposito, soon found himself in the observation room, watching Beckett in action.<p>

[ Interrogation Room #1 Bobby / Beckett ]

"Did you or did you not have it? It's a simple question." Beckett was sitting on the edge of the metal table next to Bobby, staring down at him. Pressuring Bobby was the only thing she can do at this time in order to find the next bomb, it was a matter of life and death.

"I don't know!" Bobby was a pickpocket, defending himself against Beckett.

"Who put you up to this, Bobby? Who gave you that backpack?"

"I don't... I don't know. I don't remember." Bobby held his head down, he was trying to get himself out of this situation.

Her voice raising, "You don't remember? How do you not remember?"

Bobby never dared to raise his voice at this woman, "I was in shock. The bomb went off. Everyone was running and screaming..."

"Oh, okay, okay, so you remember what happened after the bomb went off, but not before." Her fingers spread out, tapping the table as she spoke.

"It must have been one of those traumatic amnesia things."

"Bobby..." She paused for three seconds, "don't lie to me."

"I'm telling you, it was all a big blank. It was the trauma!"

"It was not the trauma." She pointed a finger towards him, shaking her head slightly once, "You don't get to use that excuse."

"I swear, I don't remember."

Beckett rose her voice louder this time, "The hell you don't remember. Do you want to know trauma?"

Castle was watching Beckett for a moment before his gaze drifted away, eyebrows arched, and nodding his head as he went along with Beckett's statement. He knew she wasn't a stranger to trauma situations, Bobby was just simply trying to use the silly excuse to get himself out of this situation.

"I was shot in the chest, and I remember every_** second of it**_**.**" Beckett's statement hushed Bobby completely. There was nothing Bobby could assert against that one, it was a winning argument for Kate Beckett.

Castle furrowed his eyebrows, his eyes carefully raising to look at Beckett through the glass.

"And so do you." Beckett ended the argument, moving away from the table to lean against the wall behind Bobby. She crossed her arms, eyeing down on the floor with a scowl expression.

Castle matched his scowling expression with Beckett's, speaking softly to himself, "All this time..."

Beckett nibbled her bottom lip, looking up to stare at the mirror. Her contact wasn't connected with Castle's, she had NO idea he was behind the glass.

"... You remembered?" Castle finished the sentence. He kept his eyes on Beckett for a few more seconds before storming out of the observation room without announcement.

[ End Interrogation / 12th Precinct Bullpen ]

"Guy's still not talking?" Esposito asked Beckett, walking side by side with her towards her desk.

"Not yet. I'm gonna let him sweat for a bit." They both reached her desk, she sees the coffee cup. "Was Castle here?"

"Yeah, earlier. But he said he had to go. Said there was somewhere he needed to be." Esposito answered before leaving Beckett alone.

She held up the coffee cup in hand, staring at it with wonder.

* * *

><p>Martha walking side by side with Castle. She was having a heartfelt talk with him. Richard confessed to his mother that she remembered everything, and not once she told him. She kept it hidden. Castle thought he was a fool for believing they could have a future together, he was willing to wait. Everything that's happened before at the retreat was almost all for nothing, especially in the car ride over back into the city, she said it was all just a show. How could he be so stupid to believe her?<p>

"Richard, love is not a switch. You can't just turn it off." Martha took a sigh, "You can't work side by side with her and not feel anything."

Castle glanced at mother, putting on a false smile, "Watch me."

* * *

><p>The bombing case was over. Gates gave a conclusion speech before the gang of the precinct scurried away from each other. Some congratulated each other, a pat on the back, moving on. The worst was over, but it wasn't for Castle. He totally forgot everything that's happened at the retreat, all their intimate moments together were clouded up by her big, nasty outburst in the interrogation room. How could she tell a total stranger that, and not Castle? Why was she hiding it from him in the first place? Was he genuinely just a loyal friend the whole time? He didn't mind being the true friend, except he couldn't help but feel much more than that. The feeling was inevitable.<p>

Beckett returned to her desk with a small smile, looking at the boys, "You know what, I'm still kind of wired." She shrugged her shoulders, "Do you guys want to go out for a drink?"

"Oh, I'm sorry." Ryan looked to Esposito, then back to Beckett, "You know, it feels like a month since I've seen Jenny. I should really get home."

"Me too. I'm tanked. I'll holler at you." Esposito smiled at Beckett, leaving with Ryan.

"I guess it's just us." Beckett turned to Castle.

"Yeah." He mumbled.

"You know, now that the case's done..." She quickly glanced at the floor before looking upon Castle, now they could actually have the talk. Castle was going to say something serious earlier, but with the bombing, all of it was just another horrible timing. Luckily for them, the case was wrapped up quickly. "What did you want to talk about?"

Castle paused, trying hard to ignore her eye contact, then closed eyes when he shakes head, reopening them with a smile upon his face. Hiding the disappoint, "Nothing. Nothing important anyway. I'm gonna head home. Night." Castle was in a hurry to leave Beckett, he couldn't stand to be around her anymore, not after what he'd just heard.

"... Good night." Beckett furrowed her eyebrows, watching him leave._ That was odd..._

Castle stepped into the elevator, pivoted his body to face the buttons, pushing a button.

Beckett slipped her jacket on, she ran her hands behind her back, underneath the hair to freed them out of the jacket collar. She turned her head over her shoulder to look at Castle, adjusting her coat.

He caught a glimpse of her looking just before the doors closed.


	10. Chapter 10

**Sex Therapy**

**A/N: Okay, since people are confused/complaining about the 47-second bit. I decided to write a new author note to clear things up. I put it in because it was the push I needed for the angst idea I had in mind. If you think you're in for the fluffy ride just because everything is going so well at the retreat, you're in the wrong place. It is still fiction, I won't be adding the Undead/Headhunters bits, things are going in a completely different way.**

****For those who aren't liking the angst... I'm sorry, but guess what? Life's full of angst, we learn from them, and it will always be part of our lives. I'm a realist, and if you can't accept that, then this story isn't for you. That includes the swearing too. It's not part of the show, but it's more realistic for me. Besides, the swearing are usually in the angst sections. I don't use excessive language for fun, like yay it's fun to swear for no reason...****

**This chapter is now Post-47 seconds. I'll admit, I did take some of the dialogue from the Limey, only because I found them perfect and amusing to use. Reminder, the Limey case never happened, but I am taking advantage of Jacinda into the story, only a small part.**

**For the rest of the reviews, thank you so much. I know I'm not responding back to them one by one, but I promise I will get back to you guys at some point. :)**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Castle.**

* * *

><p>It was Monday morning.<p>

Beckett hadn't seen Castle all weekend, nor heard from him. Not once he tried to call her. Things were starting to get confusing for Beckett. She thought things were going well between the two of them. After what happened at the retreat, she had no idea how the hell it went from that to this. Beckett buried herself into work all weekend, avoiding the obvious questions from the boys on where Castle was, she simply told she had no fucking clue, and she wasn't going to complain. She knew there would be a logical reason why he's been missing.

She did call Alexis on his whereabouts. Alexis informed Beckett that Castle needed to step out for a while. Alexis didn't have the slightest idea where her father went, but he assured the family that nothing was wrong, and he needed time to get away for a bit.

That was just it, there was nothing Beckett could do, but to continue with the cases coming along her way. Castle would be back before she know it, and she's going to have a serious talk with him.

Beckett's phone rang, answering it after a quick look at the caller ID display, "Hey Esposito."

"Hey Beckett, we got a body." Esposito responded.

Beckett thanked him for the address, hanging up. She was on her way over to the body drop site, riding solo this time. She wasn't going to bother calling Castle on this one, since he's not answering her, why the hell should she even bother? Beckett wasn't giving up on Castle, but ignoring her calls frustrated the hell out of her, and she needed a break from abusing Castle's number on speed dial.

Beckett snapped a pair of latex gloves on before arriving at the scene of crime. It took place at some sleazy cheap motel. The roaring sound of machine stopped her from moving any further, she turned to see what it was, and it was Castle.

Castle was driving his red Ferrari with a blonde woman in the passenger seat, having a laugh.

The hell... Beckett stared, watching Castle leaving the driver seat to trade places with the blonde, except he was leaving the car for her to take with. Castle said his goodbyes, arriving at the scene of crime towards Beckett, "Hey." He said with a smirk, looking over his shoulder to peek at the blonde one last time, waving to his new friend driving off.

"I feel like I just walked into a bad episode of "Miami Vice." Beckett spoke directly to Castle as he approached.

"Okay, first, there are no bad episodes of "Miami Vice." Second, who died?" Castle asked, walking along with Beckett to the crime scene, keeping a large gap between them.

Beckett felt angry, this was not what she was expecting at all from Castle. In fact, she was surprised to learn he even showed up. "You from the looks of it. You look like you just got run over by a truck." She needed to say that to feel better, hiding behind the anger.

"Yeah," Castle grinned again, "A truck delivering a shipment of awesome... Nah, I just flew in Vegas for the weekend. Just needed a change of scenery."

She quirked her eyebrows, "And you won the blonde in a high-stakes poker match?"  
>"No, I met her on the flight back."<p>

"And you just gave her your car?"

"Jacinda happens to be a very trustworthy person. She's a first-class flight attendant. It's not like I gave her my social security number."

"Castle..." Beckett grabbed his forearm to stall him, "Is everything okay?"  
>Castle glanced down at her hand wrapped on his forearm, looking back up at Beckett with a small grin, "Never better." He pulled his arm away from her grip, walking ahead towards the crime scene.<p>

Beckett stood there in shock, just what the hell happened between them? Has he forgotten what happened at the retreat? Why was he acting like an asshole? This clearly wasn't normal.

Castle was back to his old self.

Lanie saw it all, the interaction between the two. Castle walked away from Beckett, that was a first. Beckett had never looked so disappointed before. Lanie was no expert, but obviously it was obvious something was going on. Lanie watched Castle approaching her, "Hey writer-boy, new friend, huh?" She asked, keeping her cool.

"Yeah, Jacinda. She's amazing, easy-going and uncomplicated." Castle responded, "I was in Vegas for the weekend."

"Lucky, bro." Esposito overheard him, coming up to Castle. "Lots of women, huh?"

"You got it." Castle grinned, bumping fist with Esposito's fist.

Lanie narrowed her eyes at Esposito, just staring at her ex. Beckett rolled her eyes, she was on Lanie's side here. Walking past Castle and Esposito, looking at the body inside of the motel room. The room was clean, the bed hadn't been used, but the chair toppled over along with some ropes next to it.

"What do we got?" Turning her attention to Lanie.

"Jane Doe female, 28 years old." Lanie pointed to the wound on her upper abdominal, "Stabbed and left for dead. Time of death, about 8 to 8:40 PM last night." She then pointed over her wrists, and her ankles, "Rope marks, she was tied up, but she went down with a fight, took one to the face. I'll know more when I get back to the lab."

"Thanks Lanie." Beckett studied the body carefully, seeing if there was anything unusual about this one. The victim well dressed, why would she be in a cheap motel? She checked the wallet, the money was all there, except for the I.D, and credit cards, anything with her name on it was removed. "I don't think this was robbery, her wallet's wiped clean except for a couple hundred bills here."

"Hey Beckett." Ryan came over to Beckett, "Front desk said the victim paid cash for the room, no surveillance cameras around here, and the neighbours heard a bit of a scream, but it didn't last long."

"Why didn't anyone report it?" Beckett asked.

"They thought someone was arguing, they decided to ignore it. Also, guy at the front desk said he didn't know she was being held hostage, guy stood next to her with a cap and a scarf, said it was almost impossible to see his face. Can't run a sketch with that one."

Beckett nodded to Ryan, looking at the ropes, "Wonder how she got herself out of this mess..." There wasn't a single attempt at cutting through these ropes.

Lanie looked over to the ropes, "Yeah, I'm thinking the killer let her run loose. I'm guessing that's when she struggled to fight against the killer, but lost the battle. Can't say for sure until I get back to the lab." She continues to jot down notes in her clipboard.

Castle was hovering, listening to the detectives at work but hadn't said a single word.

Esposito was checking through his notepad, reviewing his notes, "There's no sign of the murder weapon, CSI searched the place, and we also checked the dumpster."

"Alright, keep me posted." Beckett snapped the latex gloves off. "Run the prints, hopefully we'll get a hit." She glanced over to Esposito, "The front desk didn't see anything unusual? Somebody must have seen something."

"Nah, in broad daylight? They acted like normal people. Nobody had a clue what they looked like." Esposito shrugged, "I've already interviewed the neighbours with Ryan, no luck."

"Looks like a one night stand gone wrong." Castle spoke.

"Are we talking about the victim, or you?" Beckett asked abruptly.

Lanie smirked to herself.

Castle stared at Beckett with a 'ha-ha' look, then back over to the body, "I have a theory. What if she was tied up for the time being, but the killer lets her loose, so he could have fun with her... Then ties her up again, but when there's a moment she was freed, she built the courage to attack the killer in an attempt to escape, but failed?"

"Uh," Lanie stopped Castle, "She's wearing clothes. I don't think the killer would go through the trouble to dress her up after each session, but I will check for any signs of sexual activity. Wouldn't bet my money on it."

Castle nodded, "It's worth a try."

Beckett didn't care much for his theory at this point, anything's possible, but her guts said otherwise. She took a fresh look around the room, avoiding Castle's direct eye contact. This wasn't the time to stare in his eyes, and see what's wrong between the two of them. She was here to do her job, and him being there was a bad type of distraction for Beckett. "Thanks guys, call me if something's come up." She left the crime scene, putting the latex gloves away.

Castle followed her back to her Crown Vic vehicle, he sliding into the passenger side.

Beckett wasn't expecting Castle to follow her around. She saw him slip in the passenger seat next to her, staring at him with astonishment, "I thought your friend would come back for you. What's the matter? She had enough?"

"Ha, no. She's going back to my place for a bit. So what's our first move?" Castle asked, rubbing his hands together to keep warm.

"There's nothing we can do for now." Beckett inserted the key, turning to start the ignition, "I'll drop you off home then."

"Why?" Castle asked.  
>"I don't need you on the case, Castle. You can go home and spend time with your new lady friend. The boys and I can take care of things here, besides you're not a real cop." Beckett was being straight up with Castle, she didn't want to deal with him, and like hell she's going to deal with his new conduct at work.<p>

"Actually she's coming by the precinct to pick me up for lunch. Do you mind?"

Beckett rolled her eyes, "Fine, but you don't need to come back after that." She drove the car out of the parking lot, getting back on the road towards the precinct. The trip back was awkwardly silent, and but there was tons of anger in the air between the two. Castle was still angry at Beckett for not telling him she remembered, and Beckett was angry at him for not calling her back over the weekend, and being with someone else had never made her so irritated before. Veronica was stressful enough, but this one was slightly worse.

* * *

><p>Back at the precinct, Beckett went over to her desk and settling down in her chair, continuing the paperwork she left this morning. There wasn't much she could do with the new case. The victim has no identity, she paid cash for the room, no record of her name anywhere, and Beckett couldn't call the next of kin either. Absolutely nothing until Lanie gets back at her with the lab report.<p>

Castle went straight to the break room, starting up the cappuccino machine.

Beckett tapped her fingers gently on the desk, the words she was reading off the paperwork became a blur, her thoughts were drifting away from work. She took one good hard look at Castle through the window, watching his face focusing on the machine. _Fuck it_. She thought since the boys aren't back yet, Lanie's occupied, and Gates was nowhere to be seen. Now that Castle's back, it was now or never. She got up from her seat to the break room and closed the door shut, "Castle." She spoke his name in a serious manner, grabbing his attention away from the cappuccino machine.

Castle stopped what he was doing, looking at Beckett with a state of surprise, "What? Do you want some coffee?"

"No." She crossed her arms, furrowing her eyebrows at him, her eyes filled with anger, "What I want is a cup of fucking honesty. You want to tell me what happened?"

"Whoa, okay." Castle chuckled, "I told you, I went to Vegas for the weekend, and I needed a change of scenery. What else would you like to know?"

"You know that's not what I meant." Beckett leaned her back against the door, "First of all, you couldn't wait to get me to go undercover with you. Things happened, you kissed me. We kissed, we almost got into it. Have you forgotten any of that? I mean, at least tell me what that was all about? Fuck, Castle, we didn't even get a chance to talk about it."

"It's not my problem." Castle was cold, she was the one who lied to his face when he asked her a straightforward question at the hospital, "We were undercover. Remember? You said it was all an act. That's just what it was."

Beckett scoffed with her eyes rolling, feeling complete exhaustion with this argument already, "You know what? Forget I even asked." She was shutting down easily, she wasn't in the mood to be screwed around with. There was work to be done first, and she's going to make Castle the least priority. She opened the door, leaving the break room to head back to where she was.

Castle sighed. It wasn't easy for him to be such an ass to Beckett, but he needed to do it to protect his feelings. He didn't want to get hurt anymore than he already is at this point. He finished making a cup of cappuccino for himself, stirring it with a Popsicle stick.

"Fucking Castle." She muttered quietly to herself when she got back at her desk. He was clearly pulling away a lot. She wondered what the hell she did, or said to make him this way. Her cell phone beeped minutes later. Beckett checked, it was a message from Lanie. She left the bureau, heading down to the morgue alone.

Castle was still in the break room, carefully watching Beckett leaving the bullpen. He stayed put, not wanting to face Beckett; instead he's waiting for the blonde bimbo to come rescue him.

Ryan and Esposito just got back from the crime scene, walking past Beckett. There wasn't any news for her regarding the case. They went over to the break room to find Castle, joining him for a quick chit-chat, and making themselves a cup of coffee.

* * *

><p>Beckett stormed into the morgue, "Talk to me." She was loud and clear, and certainly not in the mood to play around.<p>

Lanie raised her eyebrows at Beckett, "Hello to you too... Writer-boy, huh?"

"You have no fucking idea." Beckett spoke through her clenched teeth, "I can't even look at his face."

Alexis came up next to Lanie, she overheard Beckett alright. Alexis surprised Beckett by showing up next to Lanie, causing her to be stunned. Obviously Beckett hadn't meant to say it in front of Castle's daughter. "What's going on with my dad?" She asked Beckett, crossing her arms with an attitude. "Did my dad do something childish?"

Beckett thinned her lips, busted. She shook her head softly, "Sorry Alexis, I can't tell you... Did you know your dad's back from his little trip?"

"Yeah..." She paused with her eyebrows drawing together, "but he seemed like himself when he came home."

"Okay... Lets not talk about your dad, Alexis. Please don't mention this to him, I'd hate to make things worse between us."

Lanie eyed the two back and forth, listening in. Definitely something going on, and she's going to have to hear from Beckett, alone. "Okay, well. The victim name is-"

"Did something happened between you two?" Alexis couldn't help but ask.

Lanie cleared her throat to continue, trying to carry on her job, "Her name is Jennifer-"

"No, just a nasty argument." Beckett answered. "Don't worry about it, Alexis. I'll sort this out myself."

"Jennifer Briar, she's 28 years old-" Lanie tried to continue again.

"I like you, Detective Beckett, but if you hurt my dad..." Alexis lets out a deep sigh, "I'm sorry, but I don't think I can forgive you. He's been hurt way too many times. I love my dad, but whatever it is, let him go." She left the two adults alone, heading out of the morgue.

"Alexis," Beckett tried to halt her when she stormed out of the morgue, but she didn't stop for Beckett. She was out of sight by then. Beckett closed her eyes, letting out a frustrating groan. "Unbelievable." She met with Lanie's eyes.

Lanie was giving her the look with her eyebrows arched, remaining silent.

"What?" Beckett spoke. "Don't even ask. I don't want to talk about it."

"But you have to at some point." Lanie said, finally continuing with the lab report, "No signs of sexual activity..."

Beckett arched her eyebrows, "Excuse me?"

"...Uh," Lanie narrowed her eyes at Beckett, "I was ... referring to the victim..." She pointed finger downwards at the victim's body.

_Crap_. "...Right. So, forced intercourse is out. W-what do we got?" Beckett stuttered, she got herself mixed up with the victim.

"Uh huh... Just as I mentioned earlier, she was tied up, but at some point the killer let her run loose. When she was free, she fought, and the killer punched her across the temporal bone," Lanie circled the bruise on her temple, "I found some blood elsewhere on her clothing, and it isn't hers."

"It belongs to the killer?"

"Possible. I will run some more test. If anything, I would bet that she got a hold of the knife, slashed the killer, but it wasn't enough to kill. At least that's what the blood splatter here tells me, but then the killer punched her face in self-defence, took the knife and finished her off for once. "

"Okay, thanks Lanie." She took the lab report Lanie held out to Beckett, leaving the morgue. By the time she left the morgue, she looked down the hallway and noticed Alexis sitting on the bench by herself. She looked distraught. Beckett took a deep sigh, she felt guilty leaving Alexis out of the loop. She strides over to Alexis, knowing Alexis wouldn't want to hear from Beckett anymore, but she wasn't going to let Castle get in the way of their relationship. "Alexis... Mind if I sit?" She asked.

Alexis looked up to Beckett, lifted her shoulders in a shrug and scooted over to make room.

Beckett sat next to Alexis, "Believe me when I say this, I did try to let Castle go." Alexis wasn't looking at her at all, but Beckett kept her eyes on her as she speaks, "I didn't want to keep him around because I knew that if I did, I would end up hurting him, you, and Martha as well. I'm not proud of what happened in the past, Alexis, but I can't change what happened."

Alexis remained silent, staring at the floor in front of her.  
>"I'm seeing a therapist... Castle doesn't know." Beckett confessed, "I'm working things out, and I've come to realize that your dad is one of the greatest thing that's ever happened in my life. I'm not going to let him go now, at least not yet until I sort things out with your dad." Beckett laughed a little, "I was supposed to go out to dinner with him last week, but then the bombing... and after that, he pulled away. I hate to tell you this, I know your dad is a great guy, but what he's doing right now is driving me nuts."<p>

"What is he doing?" Alexis wasn't crying, but a tear streamed down her cheek, wiping it off in a swift motion.

"Oh you know, being childish." Beckett shrugged, "Being himself. Like I said, don't worry, I'm working on it. He's always going to be a 5 years old on a sugar rush, and that's never going to change."  
>Alexis scoffed with a laugh, "Impossible."<p>

Beckett smiled, "Castle's lucky to have you. He's proud of you. Heck, even I'm impressed with you. You may not have gotten into Stanford, but you're making a difference here." "Hardly..." Alexis mumbled.

"Working with dead bodies is one thing, but you being here with Lanie is a great opportunity. You still continue to impress me, Alexis. I can see why Castle had the urge to brag about you several times. I'll never get tired of hearing it."

Alexis took a deep sigh, wiping a few more tears off with her hand, "Thanks Detective Beckett. I can't bear to see my dad hurt anymore. He doesn't deserve that."

"I know." Beckett placed a hand on Alexis' back, gently rubbing in circles. "I promise he'll be safe, I'll do my best, but you know your dad, he doesn't listen sometimes."

Alexis grinned, "Wouldn't a leash be sufficient enough?"

Beckett raised an eyebrow with a smirk. There goes her dirty thoughts. Even though Castle angered her at this point, but having the conversation with Alexis made her realize she can't give up on him, not just yet. "Sure, if you'll help me pick one out. Preferably the retractor ones."

"Just so you know, Detective Beckett, this wouldn't count under the hurt category."

"Noted."

"Thanks..." She smiled, "I hope things will work out." Alexis leaned over to pull Beckett into a hug. Beckett wasn't expecting the hug, she wasn't the kind of person to initiate this kind of affectionate, but she returned the hug to ensure Alexis that she meant every word of it.

* * *

><p>Beckett rode the elevator back up to the precinct, holding the lab report behind her back. She thought a lot about what she said to Alexis, she never intended to do that until she saw how upset she was. Hell, Alexis wasn't even supposed to be in the middle of the situation at all. The elevator stopped at the lobby floor on the way up. Beckett watched the doors sliding open, finding the Jacinda standing outside of the elevator. Castle's new woman, and she's going to have to share the journey with her.<p>

The blonde looked nothing like Beckett thought. Up close, she certainly doesn't look like the dumb kind of bimbo, in fact she was quite the sexy type. Jacinda walked into the elevator, giving Beckett a short warm greeting smile. She had no idea who Beckett was, and it wasn't necessary to. Castle never filled her in, it wasn't any of her business. Jacinda was about to push the 4thfloor button, but the button was already lit. She looked over to Beckett once again with another awkward smile.

Beckett said nothing. This wasn't Veronica, this was Castle's new woman, and she wasn't going to do anything silly. It would be irresponsible of her to do so.

_**DING**_

Beckett was the first to walk out, walking past Jacinda with a cold shoulder. She didn't give her a smile; instead she headed straight back to her desk.

Esposito stood from his office chair when he saw Beckett's approach, he made his way over to her desk, eyeing the blonde, "We got something?"

Beckett turned her attention over to the blonde, "Yeah..." She was somewhat distracted by Jacinda strolling through the bullpen slowly, keeping an eye out for Castle.  
>Castle stood by Ryan's desk before the two ladies came out of the elevator. He spotted Jacinda, walking over to Jacinda with a greeting, glad to see her. She greeted back, they both shared a quick kiss on the cheek. Castle shifted his body almost to confront the gang, "Lunch date, be back in few hours." He left the precinct with Jacinda, a hand on her lower back to escort her back to the elevator.<p>

Beckett couldn't help but stare at the two walking off like a floozy young couple in heat, thinning her lips. There was nothing she could do at this point, but she wasn't ready to give up. It wasn't the right timing to talk to Castle either.

"What was that about? Was that the flight attendant?" Ryan asked, coming up to Beckett, standing next to Esposito.

"Yeah, he's probably trying to rack up his frequent flyer miles." Beckett responded with a shrug, turning to the boys, "Alright, the victim name is Jennifer Briar. Ryan, I want you to check her financial records, see if anything unusual pops out."  
>"On it." Ryan went back to his desk.<p>

Beckett continued, "Esposito, run her background check, I'll notify the next of kin."

"Got it, boss." Esposito nodded, heading back to his desk as well.

She lets out a deep exhale. For the next few hours, she decided to immerse herself into work before Castle comes by again as a distraction. Unless he's actually willing to take her advice and let the detectives handle this one, stay home with Jacinda.

* * *

><p><span>[ Precinct 2:40 PM ]<span>

Everyone except for Castle was in the meeting room with the murder board, additional data written on the white board, all were exchanging what they found so far. Castle came by the precinct a few hours later, he came empty-handed, not a single cup of coffee for himself or Beckett. "Hey guys." Castle spoke, entering the meeting room with a grin.

"Hey Castle." Ryan greeted, Esposito greeted as well, but Beckett didn't. She looked up at him in her chair, then back to the paperwork. Beckett continued to speak, Castle's showing up interrupted her before, "Alright, so. Ryan, you said $50,000 was withdrawn out of the bank? What time did that happen?"

"Yep," Ryan checked the time of withdrawal, "7:40 PM."

"That's just a shy 20 minutes before the murder took place." Beckett fiddled with the pen, thinking to herself, "This is beginning to look more like a kidnapping for ransom."

"Except how could she even authorize the transfer?" Esposito asked, checking the paperwork.

"...Relatives?" Castle asked. "Someone trustworthy. What about her cell phone records?" He sat on the edge of the table, looking at everyone, fiddling with his own thumbs in his lap.

"None of her calls were random." Beckett replied, not looking at him in the eyes. She pulled out the call record, rechecking to be make sure. She noticed the same number Jennifer dialled a few times, the time of the calls were marked from 4 to 7:50 PM, a large gap of inactivity between the calls. "... Or maybe the killer used it, making it look like it's a friendly call. Ryan, run the number and see who it is."

"On it." Ryan grabbed the cell phone record from her, walking out of the room.

Castle smirked, this was a good day for him. He just walked in, mentioned a little something, and it could have been the break they were looking for. Castle didn't brag about it, but his self-esteem face shows.

"How was lunch?" Beckett asked Castle, leaned back in her chair, needing to stretch her back.

He looked to Beckett for a brief second, "Oh, I loved the special." Looking back at the murder board to review the case.

"I'll bet." Beckett turned over to Esposito, "Hey Esposito, did she have any drug addiction of some sort?"

Castle looked back to Beckett with his eyes squinted, there was a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

Esposito checked his paperwork, he was the one running her background check, "I don't see any priors for drug bust. I'll check with Lanie for any drug substances in her body." He left the room to see Lanie.

Then there were two.

It was quiet for a moment, Beckett was eyeing Castle's back as he was reviewing the board again. "You didn't need to come back, I told you." Beckett dropped the pen on the table, crossing her arms. "We can handle things just fine here, Castle."

His body pivoted halfway to face Beckett, with his head to complete the turn. "You know what, Beckett? If you want me out of here for good, just say the word, and I'm gone."

"No." Beckett rose from her seat, keeping her voice fairly low, but clear enough for Castle to hear, "You listen to me you arrogant jackass, I don't care if you're screwing someone, but you have no right to fuck with me like that.

"Excuse me?" Castle tried to interrupt.

Beckett continues with anger, "I expected us to talk, but you're a coward. You ran off to Vegas like an immature child." She scoffed, seeing that Castle didn't say anything else. She took the silent as a cue to leave the room, she prodded around the table, walking past Castle on the way to the door.

Ryan came back to the meeting room, approaching the door. He hadn't heard Beckett at all, but seeing she was on the way out, and he was about to inform her.

Castle reached for her wrist, grabbing it before she could walk out. He stopped her from leaving the room. Just when she stopped moving, he got up from the table to walk over to the door, closing it shut in front of Ryan for total privacy. He eyed Ryan's response through the door glass, this wasn't the time for Ryan to cock-block this one out.

Ryan raised his eyebrow, "Uh..." Slowly backed over to his office chair, he saw to it that Castle stopped Beckett, and there was going to be some sort of fight. The case has to move forward, but Castle spooked Ryan into backing off for the time being.

Beckett's stomach jumped the moment he touched her wrist, it had been hell of a week, but the touch was lost immediately when he got up to shut the door. She watched Castle, and Ryan was just outside, he saw the interaction between the two, but there was nothing personal except for the touch.

Castle didn't bother to pull the blinds down, it would have made it look sexually inappropriate. After the door closed, he stepped close to Beckett, but she yielded away a bit to keep the space wide. Castle speaking in a tone of anger, voice raising higher than expected, "Coward? You're calling me a coward? I'll take immature, but coward? I am far from that, Kate."

She raised her eyebrows at Castle, "Wha..." She laughed, "Castle, you are a coward."

"No Kate, you got it ass-backwards. Why didn't you come forward to me? I waited for so long, and yet you're here, sinning by silence. It's not smart."  
>Kate hushed, narrowing her eyes at Castle.<p>

"It's not brave." Castle stepped closer to Kate, "It's just cowardly. I'm a fool for believing the possibly that you could ever love me, but coward? Kate, that's just you."

"What the fuck are you talking about, Castle?" She shook her head, now she was just confused. She knew what the words meant, but she obviously had no idea what happened during the bombing. Did he see Courtney, the therapist? Did she reveal something to Castle?

"I had no idea what was going on until I heard you talking to Bobby." Castle took a few steps, turning to face the door.

Beckett's eyes widened, shocked that Castle heard her in the interrogation room. "Oh, so is this what it's really all about, huh? Did you even give me the fucking chance to explain things, Castle?" Her words stopped his movement. She came close to him with a firm grip on his arm, her hand pulling his arm to turn him around, staring upon his eyes. "What? Those things we did at the retreat meant nothing to you?"

"They did, but it didn't mean anything for you. You said it was all an act."

"That's what I said to Veronica, not you! Excuse me, Rick, but you implied it first. Did you even bother to think about that? I said it because of what you said."

" Bullshit, Kate. You know that's just bullshit." His words seemed to pierce a part of her, snarled at her face, causing her to flinch with the rage in his voice.

Kate scoffed, "Unbelievable, Rick. And now you're going to make a big ass deal out of my confession?"

"You lied to me for months." Castle clenched his teeth, he was pissed.

"I wasn't ready. Fuck, Castle. I wasn't ready for months. Why did you think I broke up with Josh? I was confused, I was hurt, I was angry. For fuck sakes, Castle, I was shot. What did you expect me to do? Say yes, and kiss happily ever after? Get real, Rick."

"See now, that." Castle pointed a finger at Kate, "If you had said yes, I wouldn't impose you into anything like that."

"Maybe not, but what the hell would you do if I had said yes, I love you too? Rick, you honestly can't expect that kind of reaction from me, I almost died!" Her voice raised at the end, frustrated. She wasn't ready to accept his love, but she was healing through the sessions with Dr. Burke, and Castle had no idea.

Castle paused, eyebrows creasing. Was that just a confession he heard? He stared at face, trying to gather the thoughts to fight back, but the 'L' word were clouding the words in his mind. He opened his mouth to speak, but he couldn't. Castle didn't know whether to argue back, kiss her, or leave the precinct. He was at loss for words.

"...Castle." Kate shook her head softly, "I may not have been loud and clear with the words, but I am..." Kate paused for a brief second, "in love with you." She completed the sentence in a sigh. The argument winded down between the two, their voice lowered. They weren't yelling loud enough for people outside to listen in. Ryan barely caught a word they're saying, but their expressions at each other were hard to decipher.

Castle felt stupid. Really stupid. He was certainly a blind idiot for not seeing all that, but the people in his life urged him to not waste a minute of it, and he did. He wasted a lot of time coming up with excuses to believe that Kate wouldn't be involved with someone like him. It prevented him from speaking to Kate. Maybe he truly is the coward here. Kate was also a coward in some situations, she could have done something, but she didn't. He should have come forward to confront Kate after the interrogation with Bobby, but he didn't.

Kate lets out a deep exhale. There. She said it. She confessed, and the idea of it was scary, but the second the words flown out of her mouth, she felt relieved. Watching Castle's face, he wasn't saying anything nor express differently.

Castle turned to face the door, gripping the doorknob to turn. He opened the door in a swift motion, storming out of the meeting room in a heartbeat without a word.

She swung her body to face the table in front of her, letting out a sharp gasp. "Fuck..." She muttered. She was afraid of this, of Castle walking out the moment she confessed. She knew he was in love with her, but it had been months since she heard him confessed. Kate wondered if his feelings have changed, and she thought it did when he spoke to Veronica. Now that the confession's out, she wasn't aware of his feelings anymore, other than being deeply hurt.

Esposito caught Castle storming through the bullpen. He tried to stop Castle, but he kept on prancing towards the elevator without a word. Esposito thought that was rude, walking over to Ryan, "What did I miss?"

Ryan shook his head with a shrug, "Mom and dad were fighting, they closed the door when I tried to come in, and I couldn't catch any of it. It looked pretty bad." He nodded his head over to Beckett, her back was facing the detectives to hide her emotions.

Esposito turned his head to look at Beckett's back, "... Shit, I'm going to kick Castle's ass." He walked over in deliberation, and stood by the door frame, knocking on the door gently, "Beckett, you alright?"

Beckett lets out another exhale, her eyes closed to fight back the tears. She didn't want the boys to see her like this, after all she's a strong woman. The tears held back strongly, she fluttered her eyes to push them back. And once she was in the clear of watery eyes, she turned to Esposito with a shrug, "It's just another one of those stupid arguments. Don't worry, Javi. I'm fine."

"No, you're not fine." Esposito walked into the room, he could see her eyes were slightly moist, stepping closer to Beckett, "Beckett, you can tell me anything." Ryan came up next to Esposito to meet him. "Don't think of us as work colleagues, we're your friends. You know we're here for you. If Castle did something, Ryan and I will personally kick his ass."

"Castle may be twice our size, but two against one? He's toasted." Ryan continued.

Beckett narrowed her eyes at the boys, looking at them back and forth with a soft grin, she has a deep appreciation for the boys, "You guys are cute, but I can handle this myself. Thank you though, I appreciate it, but really, I'm fine." She crossed her arms, "Let's get back to work. What did you guys find?"


	11. Chapter 11

**Sex Therapy**

**A/N:**

**Beware children.**

**The word "fuck" is used in here.**

**There is angst sex.**

**It's graphic.**

**Turn back, kids.**

* * *

><p><em>Fuck.<em>

After their heated argument earlier, he wasn't too happy with the way things ended between them. It hadn't actually ended officially, but it seemed like it when he stormed out on Kate. Martha was right, love isn't a switch, you can't just turn it off. By the words of Martha's, he openly wondered how he let himself fall in love with Kate. But that wasn't until he found out when she confronted him about it.

She loves him.

Castle was selfish. He didn't care to hear the momentous words. Instead, he stormed out. There were so many ways he could have done to fix the situation, but thanks to his stupid selfish ego. Part of him hoped he hadn't heard that out of the ridiculous argument. Another time would have been sufficient and easy.

But nothing is ever easy with Kate. Things were always complicated, no matter what, they couldn't seem to bring themselves into telling each other how they feel on a regular day. Unlike the two wives he had, Kate was the one to hurt his heart several times, and they weren't even dating.

Castle took the time to wander around the city of New York by himself after the fight. He needed to reflect on it, replaying her words in his mind, and determine how to act on it. It was either he would go back, forgive her for not telling him she remembered, or to leave the precinct for good, pick up the pieces and move on. But Castle couldn't stop loving her, even if he tried. A few months of summer apart didn't do justice, he always found himself going back to Kate.

* * *

><p>Kate had never felt so exposed. She told him, and he walked out on her. She was afraid of the fact that the moment she tells him, he would walk out, and he did. Silly Kate, beforehand she replayed the scenario in her mind of how Castle was going to forgive her. He would kiss her, forgive her, and eventually lead to a good life.<p>

That was just a dream of hers, and it flushed down the toilet drain.

She went home to her loft late after work, with a brand new opened bottle of bourbon whiskey on the kitchen table. Kate gulped the first shot without hesitating. Like hell she wants to deal with this feeling soberly, she wanted to ease the pain, and what's one way to solve that? Alcohol. When her mom died, her father resorted to alcohol. It wasn't the best method to go with, but she understood why he drank because he was in pain. Kate felt sick to the stomach when she watched Castle left.

She hadn't planned to get drunk either, but from the looks of it, it was heading down that path.

* * *

><p><em>Fuck it.<em> Castle thought, he wasn't going to wait any longer. _Just fuck it._ Why the hell should he even torture himself if he leaves the precinct? Not only he'd torture himself, he'd torture Kate. Possibilities ran through in his mind of how she was going to deal with it. Not one second he liked the idea of Kate driving herself into a whole different personality nobody knew she had.

It wasn't a chance he was going to take, but he couldn't bear another moment without her. Not after what he had just heard from Kate's own mouth. Something he longed for, and it came out in a horrible situation. Esposito and Ryan were surely going to kill him if they didn't make things right. If Castle was to tell them his side of the story, they would side with Beckett and tell Castle to man up. They are Kate's loyal friends after all.

Castle slid himself into the backseat of the cab, gave out Kate's address. He figured she might be home by now, where else could she be at? Lanie's? Might as well start somewhere. Slipping a $100 bill through the rectangular hole to bribe him into speeding. He needed to see her as soon as possible.

* * *

><p>Kate poured her second glass of bourbon, but she didn't chug it down. She grabbed her glass with the bottle in her other hand, walking over to the couch. She hated herself for the way things left off with Castle. It could have gone so much better, if she hadn't been holding back for so long. So many chances she could have given, and yet the timing sucked. At the retreat, she spoke with Courtney, even though she wasn't Burke, but she was straight to the point with Kate.<p>

She was going to talk to him, but then shit kept happening. Ryan and Esposito interrupted their little intimate moment during the one morning they shared, things could have gone from there, but it didn't. After their last session, she was about to communicate with Castle, but he was focusing on the case. She couldn't blame him for that, it was a break they needed.

_God._

She sat down on the couch, rested the bottle on the low table in front of her, glass in hand. Kate was staring off into space, nothing in particular she was looking at, just losing herself in thoughts. Things were just fucked up at the time. What is she going to do tomorrow when she goes to work? What will Ryan and Esposito think when they don't see Castle? Will Castle show up? Uncomfortable questions were going to attack her, and she didn't want to deal with it at work. Gates would have wanted to know as well.

There would certainly be some intervention from Lanie and the boys if she decides to keep up with the awkwardness and the hiding. She prodded her head back against the couch after breaking her contact, switching over to the ceiling. "Fuck." She mumbled.

* * *

><p>Castle got to Kate's loft in just a shy of 15 minutes. It wasn't too bad, but on the way over was torturous. His brain was fried up with all the ridiculous plans and thoughts of what to say. Not only that, it was frustrating the hell out of him. The emotions were all over the place. He felt a bit of love there, betrayal, lied to, and above all, curious on how things would go from now on.<p>

He arrived at the loft, took the elevator up to her floor and speed-walked to her door. He told himself that he would rush over, knock away and wait. But the moment he reached the door, his heartbeats elevated, and his stomach was churning of nervous sickness. He's been rejected before like it was nothing, but this was a different situation.

Things might have been picked up where they left off. There could be another argument. She could scream, she could hit him for being the jerk he had been recently. Or worst of all, Kate would open up the door and say, "Don't bother coming to see me anymore, I want you out for good."

This was stopping Castle from knocking on her door. He stared blankly at the wooden door, muttering to himself to try and motivate himself to knock on the goddamn door. "Come on, Rick... Come on. Don't be a pussy."

* * *

><p>Kate drank her second shot within a few seconds. She wasn't going to get drunk from two shots, but some alcohol in her body would calm her down a little to numb the pain. Kate stared at the cell phone on the table in front of her where she left it the moment she came home from work. She could just grab it to call Castle and try again.<p>

But she didn't want to anger him any more than she already did. Kate felt like the worst person in the world. The worst friend Castle's ever had. She kept hurting him constantly, whether it's physical or emotional. It's often the emotions, she didn't see it much until she saw him at the book signing after her near death experience from the sniper. He was upset when she spoke to him, he didn't seem so happy to see her either.

She looked over to the bottle, away from the phone. Decided not to call him, for now. She might change her mind later on, but not now. Kate reached over to settle the empty glass down next to the bottle.

* * *

><p>Castle stared at the door for almost two minutes. He could have sworn someone walked by him, looking at him like he's a creep for staring down at a random door. But the person ignored him and moved on. It wasn't their place to disturb Castle. He took a deep sigh before resting his fist in the air. Gathering up the courage to knock on the door.<p>

_Just do it._

His hand almost touched the door, but he paused it, having doubts out of nowhere.

_Fucking do it._

Castle shook his head abruptly, another sigh. He retreated his hand back away from the door a little, then finally knocked. It was loud enough for Kate to be able to hear it, wherever she may be inside of her loft.

_Oh god, that sucked._

* * *

><p>Kate jumped. She was holding the bottle in hand, only had poured a little into the empty glass, but didn't finish the job. She rested the bottle back down while staring at the door. Wondering who the hell it could have been. Lanie could be making a surprise visit, being the true friend she is. Hell, her father could be visiting, but Kate doubted that her father would come over so late.<p>

_Castle?_

It could be.

She could wait for him to knock again, and leave him thinking she wasn't home. Or she could just get her ass up over to the door and answer it. Kate was too stunned to even move.

* * *

><p>Castle didn't hear any footsteps nor any kind of noise. She couldn't be home, but it wouldn't hurt to knock once more. Maybe she didn't hear his knock, maybe she's in the shower, or maybe she's not even home. He raised his fist to aggressively knock on her door again.<p>

He hoped she would be home. Hell, it took him a long time to gather up the fucking courage to do it.

* * *

><p>Kate almost jumped at the second knock, she wasn't expecting that one. <em>Fuck, Kate. Just get up and open it. <em>She let out a small groan, it honestly could be anybody else. Kate got up, hurried over to the door in a sprint, and opened the door wide. Part of her wasn't expecting it would be Castle, but another part of her knew it would be him.

For a few seconds, Kate watched Castle with his arms down by his sides, he was giving her a blank look. Nothing to say, not even an expression. She matched her appearance with his.

His body, without a second thought upon entering, forced himself into her loft. She was backing away from Castle to make room. He purposefully gripped on the wooden door to slam it shut behind him, not caring if the neighbours heard the door being slammed with a terribly loud noise.

Castle's hands shot towards her forearms, the grip he had on her was tight; the sudden flurry of movements caught her off guard putting her in a mild state of panic. She tried to maintain her balance only to realize that her feet were mere inches off the floor. He rushed her against the bookshelf and locked his lips with hers, he tasted the whiskey in her mouth, muffling the pained groan she made.

Her hands around his neck tugging him those last few inches until his lips captured hers in a kiss that held all the desire he felt raging through him. His tongue thrust into her mouth, plundering, demanding a response.

And she gave him one. One that stole the mere breath from his lungs. He growled into her mouth, sucking greedily at her tongue and lips until she clung to him, her fingers dug deeply into his skin, her body sliding down the bookcase. It was not comfortable at all, with all the shelves edges poking her back. At this point, she didn't give a fuck about the pain.

With a groan, he put his hands at her waist, holding her up as he pressed her more firmly against the bookcase. He bent his knees slightly and let his hardening crotch settle within the soft V of her thighs and she moaned, wiggling against him enticingly. God, she was driving him insane. Castle unconsciously thrust his pelvic against hers. Things weren't going to stop him now. She isn't going to stop him either, even if she did, he wasn't going to let her. This was it.

Their heads slanted towards the opposite directions, deepening the kiss with passionate and anger. A book fell and hit the ground as Castle made a strong advance upon her crotch. The entire bookcase rattled, they were making a mess of it. Kate's heart was racing, hearing the books landing, one by one.

Castle's fingers worked frantically to release the button of her jeans. Their lips still intact, but, with less passion. He was somewhat distracted by her jeans, trying to work it out. Castle was too excited to be perfecting in this play, his fingers were fidgeting around.

Kate felt his fingers tugged on her jeans, becoming aroused by the presence of his fingers near her crotch. She reached for his crotch, her hand grabbed the hardening cock in a death grip, he swore he'd felt her fingernails as if they were digging through the cloth.

He lets out a low groan by the touch of her hand on his bulge. He broke free from the kiss and her jeans, shrugged his shoulders to nudge the jacket off and eventually jerked it aside. His dress shirt was still on, but it wasn't a bothersome for Castle to deal with. He resumed his fingers on her jeans, finally pushing the button through the stitched eyelet. After a quick unzip, his thumbs sneaked beneath the waistband of her jeans, shoving it down to her ankles.

She inhaled a sharp gasp, it wasn't the first time he'd seen her without pants, but it still feels like the first time. Kate had no objection that this was going fast. She needed him now. She quickly hopped a foot out of jeans and kicked it off with her other foot.

He reached out to steady her, taking the crisp white blouse in a fist. She grabbed his shirt, and they stood there, a frozen tableau for the space of a heart beat.

Both shirts exploded in a flurry of buttons, little pieces of plastic flew through the air between them as both shirts shredded under the assault.

Castle heard the ripping of cloth, but he didn't know if it was his shirt or hers, and frankly he didn't care. She wore a white lace bra under that top, his right hand reached her cleavage and grasped the clasp from the front. There was no way he was going to fumble, he unhooked the bra and watched her breasts bounced.

Kate was nearly exposed with the shirt hanging open along with the bra and her soaked panties. Castle took a few seconds to examine her remarkable physique shape, her flushed magnificent formed breasts with pink-tipped. He wanted to draw his tongue over them, make them hard like he was hard and raw shudders from her body, but not now. She unfastened his belt and the fly of his jeans.

He reached behind her and pulled both shirt and bra down in back. She lets go as the sleeves trapped her arms behind her, he ripped them both off her body and threw it to the floor. Castle lowered his head and kissed her passionately. Lips, tongue, and teeth all caressing her mouth.

Kate couldn't match his pace in the kiss, she was using her freed hands to return them to his jeans, grabbing a handful of the material on his thighs to drag it down hard in one stroke, leaving it around his ankles. All's left was Castle standing in his navy silk boxers and opened shirt.

She tried to finish the job of undressing him, but Castle briskly grabbed her wrists to press them against the bookcase above her head, slamming Kate hard back into the bookcase with his pelvic, belatedly noticed that his pants had pooled around his ankles. Kate hardly groaned, between the kisses she lets out a solid word, "Fuck," feeling the peaked bulge grinding her. It was the first word Castle heard since he walked in this very room, but made no comment.

He grabbed the little white panties with both hands and tore them from her body, raising her off the floor before the fabric gave way. She was wet. God, she was wet. She raised her hips to his, her long legs around his waist. Her legs sculpted and muscularly toned, evidence of hours spent at a local gym and running in high heels all day at work.

When Castle lifted her off the floor, she firmly gripped the shelves behind her for proper support. After Castle held her steady with his hands cupped on her rosy ass cheeks, she threw her arms around his neck to pull him in for a kiss.

His cock was aching beneath the boxers, he couldn't bear the tightness anymore. He pulled his boxers down as best he could without letting her free and positioned himself, slamming into her in a single motion, tearing into the wet hot pussy. The head breached her slit open, completely deep into her before she could cry out. She was hot, burning hot. He could feel it as her walls pulled his shaft into her.

Kate broke the kiss with her eyes opening wide, huffed a massive gasp into Castle's mouth. The kiss broke off, but their lips were barely intact, exchanging panting breaths. Her fingers dug into the back of his neck, snaking her other hand to grip on the book shelf beside her head. Her body was trembling, she needed a strong support.

Castle emitted a shallow moan, he stayed in her, relishing the feel of it, the tightness and heat, the wetness sucking at his cock which started to throb in her. Leaning over to hold her place as he pulled out again, hearing the moist slurp as he slipped nearly free of her.

She bucked her hips against his to follow his motion, she was hungry for it, and she needed him.

Castle obliged, slamming her hard enough to friction her nipples against his bare skin. He took her again, rough, fast, and hard. Pulling back again to the barbed head of the cock and thrusting back.

Sensation of her moist walls grasping his throbbing shaft was incredible, and he needed it. He bent a bit to drive up into her, the bottom of his cock dragged across her front walls, slamming through the mottled skin of the g-spot and she tensed for a moment before giving herself over to the attack. Her moans were getting louder at some point, but with her irregular breathing, it disturbed her voice to silent several times.

The solid oak bookcase began to protest under their combined efforts, behind of the case banged the wall constantly, and the books toppled over to the floor. His cock tore into her wet velvet opening as he grunted and growled. She gasped, gripping both hands to his lower back, demanding more. Kate's lashes opened halfway, she caught Castle's stare now and then, her eyebrows furrowing deeply with wide divided lips.

He stared back as he pumped harder, throwing his hips against hers, driving through her folds, pulling them out as he retreated, plunging them inside of her. She reached out to his upper back, raking her fingernails over his shirt. If it wasn't for the shirt, she would have left minor gouges in his skin. He felt her convulse around his cock, and she buried her head in his shoulders and cried out.

Castle's back arched into Kate's body against the bookcase and fired into her deeply. The hot ropy cum coated the burning friction of their union. He stayed in her as the cock spasm and twitched, releasing what's left into her. His lower abdomen backed a little to slide himself out. His arms weakened from the aftershocks, nearing to the point of dropping Kate but fought back with his pelvic advanced against hers again, holding her up with the bookcase.

Kate bit her bottom lip, her head rested on his left shoulder, she turned her head slightly to kiss his neck with raspy breathing. Her right hand came around to cup his right side of the face. She jerked her head away from his neck, turning his head a little to face her.

They hadn't moved much at all. Her eyes met his piercing gaze, chest heaving with heavy pants through her swollen lips, and nostrils flaring. Her thumb caressed his cheekbone, kissing his lips tenderly. She snaked her hand down to stroke his chest with a light touch. Kate chortled out a brief laugh of satisfaction against his lips when she tried to place another soft kiss.

_Amazing._

Struck mute, Kate returned Castle's quiet contemplation. They didn't need to say anything, the looks on their faces were just enough to know. They were in sync, and in love.

Castle's lips quirked when Kate laughed a bit. He realized this was no place to hang around, not when his legs were slightly trembling. His hands on Kate's hadn't moved one bit, he stepped out of his clothing pooled around his ankles, walking over to the couch. Lying Kate back down on the couch. Castle tugged his shirt off, it was the last piece of clothing that needed to be removed. He tossed it aside, climbing on the couch with his body hovering over her sweating slick naked body.

Kate lied back underneath Castle, brushing her hands down his cheek while staring upon in his eyes.

He stroked the damp strands of hair at her temples. His fingers tangled in her hair, brushing it back gently. He studied her, his blue eyes revealing none of his thoughts. He lowered his hand to her mouth, stroking the pad of his thumb over her bottom lip.

Kate couldn't control the tremor that trembled through her body at the small caress. She cupped his face to bring his head down, lips meeting with his for another delicate kiss. Removing her hands from his face to put them on his back. There were no more words then, just sensation, the texture of her tongue, her nails tracing lightly up his back.

Castle carefully lowered his body for a complete skin contact, brushing the back of his hand gingerly over her shoulder as he returned the kiss. He broke it gently, he let his mouth trail down her neck, nuzzling gently, making her tilt her head back against the couch cushion. Nibbling, biting a little, but careful not to make a mark on her neck. His teeth sending shivers down her arms, she held his back in her hands and pulling him closer with a soft moan.

He made his way further down to her chest, burying his face in between her bosoms, her scar lie within from the moment she was shot. She was paranoid about it when he first noticed it at the retreat, but she remembered what he said. It defines the person she is today. Castle carefully ran his tongue over the scar once before placing a gentle kiss on top of it.

Kate nibbled her bottom lip, her chest heaving in a pace. It was somewhat difficult for her to allow Castle to go there. She snaked her hands to his neck, her thumbs on his jawline, gently forcing his head to return face to face with Kate. The padding of her thumbs caressed his jaw, resuming the eye contact with his and softly whispering, gYou drive me crazy.h

He lets out a small chuckle, "And here I thought you were going to say I love you."

Kate matched his laugh, "That too, Castle. I love you, and you're even more handsome up close."

Don't stroke my ego, Detective." He grinned, closing the gap to brush his lips against hers back and forth. "I love you too." The sound vibrated off his lips on hers, teasing her lips as he licked her lower lip.

She sighed, opening her mouth, silently welcoming the invasion of his skilled tongue as it delved inside to explore. Her knees grew weak, and she lifted her hands to run them through his slightly damp hair, holding on tight.

He marvelled at her softness, her warmth. His hand ran up her arm, her skin softer than anything he'd ever felt, across her shoulders, sliding it underneath her back, pulling her closer and feeling her breasts pressed into his chest. She moaned against his lips, and opened her mouth wider, kissing him deeply, lost into the kiss.


	12. Chapter 12

**Sex Therapy**

**A/N: That was a brilliant season finale, but obviously I will continue the story as it is. Now that the finale is over, it left me in disappointment that there wasn't a sex scene in the end. (Clearly I'm a horny kind of girl who likes to see these things happen. :P) Although it gave me a lot more motivation to write until I'm freaking satisfied. **

**Sit back and enjoy the ride of my naughty imagination. I might throw in another case later on, a short fun one.**

**Disclaimer: I would make Castle a HBO show, but in the meantime, I don't own Castle.**

* * *

><p>It was morning on the next day, the pair shared their first night together on the couch, and they slept in nude.<p>

Kate Beckett resting close to the edge of the sofa with Castle in the crevice between the couch-wall and her body. The living room was a total mess, the bottle of whiskey left uncapped on the table, clothing discarded all around and a few books toppled over with its pages folded from the fall impact. Neither of them cared for the mess they made before they went to sleep. The sweats cooled off their bodies over night, but the body heat between them was enough to survive the chilling night without a blanket.

Castle was the first to wake up this morning. He lifted his upper torso with his elbow support pressing into the cushion, fluttering his eyelids to get rid of the blurred vision. A little sore in the morning, but nothing he can't handle. Spotting Kate next to him, she was still sleeping pleasantly.

She was lying on her side, facing Castle in all glory with her body hinting a faint glow from the sun shining through the glass window. Her head laid down as Castle's body shadowed her face, preventing to wake her up from the blinding light. She hadn't gotten a decent night of sleep until last night. Work had been hell until Castle came along, it was exhilarating.

He rested a fist against his temple, letting his body shift into relaxation fashion as he watched Kate sleep. Four years, he's been waiting for this moment to come. Since he first laid his eyes on Kate, the very first case they worked together, he hadn't been able to get her off his mind since then. She was intoxicating. Castle admired her extraordinary face in silent, sneaking his eyes off to cruise her body. It was a guy thing, he couldn't help but to cherish the moment. Softly smiling, studying every detail on her body. His eyes trailing back up to glance at the detailing of her hair, lips, eyes and everything else. A lot has changed, and things were going to be entirely different from now on.

In a damn good way.

_**RIINNNG**_

Kate's eyes opened sharply in a sudden, her body jumped a bit in a respond to her ringtone, and it made Castle rise as well. She took the time to wake up with a groan, feeling a bit soreness in her body, especially her back from the damn bookshelf. She noticed Castle was staring at her while she was... _sleeping? _"Have you been watching me sleep?" She spoke softly, rubbing her eye with her fingers.

Castle chuckled, his heart was quickly beating for a moment when Kate woke up abruptly, "So what if I was?" His freed hand reached to brush her hair length away from her face, tucking it behind with a light smile on his face.

"That's creepy, Castle." She lets out a long exhale, her eyes glancing down at their bodies next to each other. They weren't touching, but they were pretty close. Kate lifted a leg to wrap around his thigh, pulling him closer for body contact. She needed to feel him, she needed to make sure this wasn't a dream, and it wasn't.

_**RIINNNG**_

This time, the 2nd ringtone drowned out of their minds. Neither of them cared, and they were craving for each other instead.

"It's not creepy..." Castle rested his hand on her jawline, lifting her head slightly as he sipped his head to steal a chaste kiss from her lips, "It's romantic." He spoke in a whisper against her lips.

Kate cupped his cheek to kiss him before mumbling, "Is that so?" She kissed his lips once again, but a little deeper this time. Her skin began to cover in a slight sweat as remnants of last night event flashed through her mind, their body connection sped up the process.

"Uh huh..." Castle muttered against her lips in between the kiss, his tongue finding its way inside of her mouth, the kiss was going deeper. He shifted his body, carefully hovering Kate's. She rolled over to lie on her back, allowing Castle to take the top. He came to rest in between her thighs, body flushing wholly against hers. Kate lifted her knees, clasping his waist and opening herself up.

_**RIINNNG**_

Kate jerked her head to the table direction, breaking the kiss with a groan. The third ringtone disturbed her flow. She was still beneath Castle, but Castle didn't stop there, he dipped his head to her neck and capturing the skin softly between his teeth, playfully biting down on it. The palm of Kate's hand repeatedly slapped the table softly, trying to find her damn phone as she was mildly disturbed by his presence, mumbling, "Where..."

Castle replaced the teething with his lips to suck on the spot gently. He carefully raised his upper torso to provide a hand of his to rest on her chest, roaming down in between her bosoms towards her abdominal in a painfully slow stroke.

"Castle, if you don't stop..." Kate finally found the phone in her hand, she brought it over to her face to check out the caller ID display, it was Esposito calling. She placed the palm of her other hand on Castle's face, desperately pushing him away to stop him. She cleared her throat before answering the phone, "Beckett."

[ Esposito ] "_Hey Beckett, where are you? It's a little past 9."_

Her eyes widened, removing the phone to look at the screen once more and noticing the time. She returned the phone to her ear, mumbling, "Didn't realize it was past 9, I slept in, had a rough night." _Yeah, hell of a rough night, Kate. _"I'll be there in 20."

[ Esposito ] "_No problem."_

Castle's face occupied by her hand, but it still didn't stop him. His hand on her abdominal travelled further down south to cup her pussy in the palm of his hand, then softly tracing his finger up and down her slit.

Kate wasn't expecting the move he made, she let out a sharp moan into the cell phone. _Good god, what the hell is he doing? Very professional, Kate. _Esposito heard it just clear on the other line. "Goddamn it." She spoke in a rush, removing the hand from Castle's face to squeeze down hard on his hand, stopping his hand movement.

[ Esposito ] _"What was that? Are you in danger? I can be there in 5!"_

"No!" Kate whined, "No! I just, err... stubbed my toe. It hurt." Kate stared up at Castle while she was on the phone. That stupid smirk on his face. He was enjoying the situation, making her squirm and driving her crazy. Kate gave him a baleful stare, lip syncing the words "I'm going to kill you."

Castle leaned in to capture her lips in a fierce kiss. Kate tried to withdraw her head away from the kiss, but he came on too strong. His hand may have been stopped, but he still has control over his fingers, pressing them in between the slit.

Kate was on fire, she threw her arm out in the air with cell phone in hand, keeping it away as far as she can. Her moans muffled in between the kiss. After a few seconds of struggle, to her horror she was slowly giving in. His lips curved into a smile, she was giving in, and he knew she wouldn't stop. She couldn't. She returned the kiss harshly and held it long before realizing she was keeping Esposito on the line.

Finally, Kate broke the kiss with a heavy pant before bringing the cell back to her ear, "Got to go." She spoke in a rush.

[ Esposito ] _"Beckett, wait!"_

Kate hung up the phone in a heartbeat, tossing it on the table, "Castle, I-"

He crushed his lips against hers forcefully, silencing her. Castle's fingers pressed firmly deeper inside of her, he could feel the heat and wetness.

She parted her lips to elicit a moan and Castle took the opportunity to enter her mouth with his tongue. His tongue mimicking what he was doing with his fingers. His fingers became more urgent tracing up and down, rubbing in circles on her clit, his kiss lingering with a subtle heat to it. Kate was expecting Castle to be aggressive, but he was leisurely curling his tongue around hers, the sensations he created was making her pussy tingle, she started to grind herself against him, hoping to relieve the tension building. The sensation, however was overwhelming, and she started to respond even more urgently to the kiss.

Once he saw the urgency in her kiss, he pulled away but gently drew part of her lower lip with him punctuating the fact that no matter what, he was in charge when it comes to sex. Kate might have been the boss of Castle at work, but in this situation, it was the complete opposite, and she has no complaints so far.

Kate groaned in misery when he pulled away from the kiss, her eyes closed at the lost sensation of his kiss, but relieved his fingers were still pleasuring her. The sensations were curling in her lower abdomen. She knew she was growing increasingly desperate, if he pulled away his fingers now she would undoubtedly slap him for teasing her to the point of insanity.

Castle pulled his fingers away at the moment, as if he read her mind. Kate's eyes snapped open in anger, lust and frustration. His triumph smile was back, arrogantly indicating he was in charge, but before Kate could do anything, he dipped his body for a total contact, brushing the crown of his hardening cock on top of her slit. He looked at her, watching her every expression while doing so.

Kate threw her head back and moaned, wreathing his pelvic beneath him, "Oh god, Castle..." She liked the change of the leading role in this play. Castle surprised her last night, and he still continues to amaze her with his bold act. Kate nibbled her bottom lip, her mind was thoroughly off work, knowing she was surely going to be late, and she's going to have to come up with a hell of an excuse.

Castle used a finger to trace her nipple, feeling it harden underneath his touch, he bent his head down to lick her nipple, before sucking on it. He continued to devour her mound a few more seconds more before bringing his head back up to meet with her level. Tunnelling his fingers in her hair, Castle sank his tongue into her mouth. His tongue stroked hers, entwining and tangling.

Mimicking his hold, she cradled his head between her palms, holding him steady as she revealed to him through her kiss all the love she harboured in her heart. She slid both hands down his chest, and with all her strength she pushed him off. This was getting out of control, he was teasing her, and she hated it.

Unfortunately for Castle, with Kate's influence, he was shoved off her body in a surprise, his back landing hard on the floor with a loud groan. His under arm hit the wooden table, but it didn't scrap his skin at all. It was definitely going to be bruising later. Castle surprised by her act, omitting a short laugh with his eyebrows furrowing, "Goddamn it, Kate!" Eyeing the ceiling, his arm throbbing in slight pain.

Kate didn't mean to throw him off hard like that, she thought it was a soft push, but apparently the teasing drove her insane. She pivoted her body in a rush, her head peeking over the edge of the couch to stare down at Castle with a huge smirk, letting out a small laugh, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to... I'm late for work, Castle." Kate's eyes wandered over his naked body, memorizing the physique figure to remember by later for work, licking her lips.

"You're already late, what's the harm?" Castle propped his upper torso up with both elbows on the ground, "Take a picture, it lasts longer."

She rolled her eyes with another small chuckle, "You would be easy to blackmail." She slid off the couch, carefully not to step on Castle's body parts. The first thing she did was to take his dress shirt, it was the closest thing to reach over. "Come on, Castle. Seriously, I'm late." Kate stood in front of Castle's feet, putting his shirt over her body, buttoning a few buttons to close the dress shirt. His shirt was large enough to cover down to her upper thighs, riding up dangerously close to her womanhood.

He watched her while lying still on the floor, he didn't feel like budging at all. Castle groaned in delight when he watched Kate slid his shirt on, "Even when you're putting clothes on, you still manage to drive me crazy."

"Uh huh..." Kate looked around the room, she was eyeing the mess they made last night, but the thing she was looking was his pair of boxers. Once she found them, she went over to grab it, but she didn't bend over to pick it up; instead she squatted down to grab it. This was to avoid giving Castle a hell of a revealing show. Now's not the time to be playing around, she truly is late for work. She came back to Castle, throwing the boxers directly at his face, "Get up, Ricky-boy..." Her eyes staring down at his cock, he was certainly up, but once again the timing is lousy, "You need to go home and shower."

Castle's hands jerked in surprise, taking the boxers in his hands, "Shower?" He pushed himself to stand up, sliding the boxers on in a quick pace, "I can do that here with you, save water and energy." He wiggled his eyebrows, "I won't bite... Promise."

She smirked, "Oh Castle..." Kate stepped in close, inches away from his body. Her fingertips walking down his abdominal towards the waistband of his boxers. Parting her lips to pant quietly, eyeing the front of the fabric where lies a slight tent beneath the material, "It's not you that I'm worried about." Her hazel eyes shot a glance back up to meet with his, licking her lips, "Oh, just the thought of you being naked... dripping wet in the shower..." Her hand palm flattened against his stomach, exploring his pecs and brushing her thumb across his nipple.

He stood silently, staring at Kate with a burning desire. A tremor raced up his back, making his cock stiffen and his balls tighten painfully. Did she have any idea at all what she was doing to him? What she made him want to do to her? He wanted to cut her off, and take her right there. Just finish off what he started a few minutes ago.

Kate held the eye contact for a few more seconds before plastering a grin, "No." Walking away proud from Castle, smirking even more. Her willpower was strong.

Castle groaned, "Kate!"

"Go home, Castle. I need to get ready." Kate shouted on the way over to the bedroom door.

"But wait! You're wearing my shirt."

Kate stopped just before entering her room, turning to look at Castle with the same smirk she had on before, "I forgot I was wearing it..." Slowly striding back over to Castle, her hips swaying in a slow motion, unbuttoning, "One thing before I forget... I'd like to keep this relationship between us for now."

"... W-Why?" He stuttered, his eyes distracted somewhat by her hands on the buttons, he couldn't keep up with the constant eye contact with hers as she was undressing for him. The first button she popped out, her cleavage were almost visible.

"Because," she popped another one out, "I'm not ready to come out to my work colleagues..." And another popped out, "Sneaking around is more fun, remember what I said before...?" Finally, the last button popped out, both hands fist the fabric to keep the dress shirt closed, "It really heightens all of your senses."

"...I." Castle cleared his throat with a chuckle, his thumbs tucked beneath the waistband of his boxers, playfully stretching the elastic around, "I can do that, but whether you like it or not, they will find out soon." Castle was hot and bothered by her sexual performance, and he thought her teases in the past were unbearable.

She grinned, pausing to observe Castle standing there, fidgeting around like a prude and focusing on her hands. He was waiting for her to open the shirt and give him a show. "That's fine, Castle..." She sank her teeth on her bottom lip, remaining in her place.

Castle swallowed a large gulp in his throat, his eyebrows mushed together.

Instead of revealing her body to Castle, she laughed it off and walked away, still holding the dress shirt closed.

"...Hey! That's not fair!" Castle scowling, "Come on, Kate!" He hurried over to follow her towards the bedroom, but she slammed the door shut before he could even enter it. He stared at the door with a frustrated groan, "Kate, I need that shirt. Mother and Alexis are going to wonder what happened-"

The door opened just a little, enough for Kate's arm to reach out and tossing the shirt at Castle, shutting the door afterwards. "Go home, Castle." She spoke from the other side.

Castle grabbed the shirt in a surprise, scoffing, "I don't even get a farewell kiss?"

"Castle."

"Okay, fine... I'll bring by some coffee later."

* * *

><p>[ 12th Precinct ]<p>

Beckett arrived at the precinct roughly half hour later after Esposito's wake up call. She was late, but she needed a quick shower and a quick breakfast to go. She had been starving, god knows how many calories she burned off last night with Castle. Surprisingly, Castle had a terrific stamina.

"Yo," Esposito came over to her desk just as she was settling down in her chair, "Rough night, huh?" He asked.

"Yep." Beckett spoke bluntly, opening the case folder on her desk, "Went to bed late."

Esposito sat in Castle's seat, "You seemed out of it when I called... What was that? A toe-stub?" He knew the toe-stub wasn't a big deal, but the moan was too suspicious to pass up.

"Uh huh... Yeah." Beckett narrowed her eyes at Esposito, "Javi, I'm fine. Can we just forget about this morning and get to work? Where are we on the case?"

Esposito smirked and shook his head, "No, Becks. Something's off here. You don't just moan over a toe-stub. Come on, tell me what really happened last night. I'm your friend, aren't I?"

"Really?" She raised an eyebrow, "And what about you with Lanie? I heard something along like... a quick release."

Esposito hesitated, choking out the words, "...Y-you got no proof. You got nothing, Becks." Shaking his head 'no' softly.

Beckett grinned, shuffling the paperwork on her desk, "And you got nothing on me either, Javi. Now can we get back to work?"

"Fine." Esposito got up in an instant, "We're picking up Leroy Blacks in a minute, he's a suspect to our case."

Beckett twirled the pen in between her fingers, "Alright, I'm going to stay put. Is the guy related to her family?"

"Nah, but he's connected. He takes care of family problems, if you know what I mean. We didn't find that out until this morning while you were ... sleeping it off..."

She rolled her eyes, "Esposito."

"Right," he cleared his throat, "The phone number Ryan ran belonged to her uncle. He was keeping in touch with the uncle."

"Did we find out where the money went?"

Ryan speaking on the way over to Beckett's desk, placing the report on her desk, "Offshore banking account in Cayman Islands, it's untraceable." He nodded his head once, "Hey, rough night?"

"Don't ask, bro." Esposito hushed Ryan, "Don't even ask."

"Er..." Ryan quirked an eyebrow, "W-what's going on?" He asked Esposito.

Beckett closed the case folder, "What's happening is that you guys are leaving, _now._" She wasn't moody this morning, but she had to put on the act to make it more convincing.

"We'll catch you later." Esposito patted Ryan on the arm, "Lets go grab our guy."

The two left her alone. Beckett smirked a little to herself, nobody suspected a thing. Esposito was a close call, but there was no way she 's giving in that easily.

* * *

><p>Castle arrived just about an hour later after Beckett came into the precinct, two coffee cups in his hands. The boys weren't back yet with their new suspect. He strode over to Beckett's desk, she wasn't there but he took his seat after settling the cups down on her desk. Castle looked around abruptly, still no sign of Beckett. <em>Hmm... She might have stepped out for a bit. <em>Whipping his phone out of his pocket.

Gates walked out of the office with a binder in her arm, she spotted Castle, making her way over. He was busy on his cell phone, fiddling with it, seemed he was about to call Beckett on her whereabouts. "Mr. Castle." Gates spoke in a professional manner, "I'd like a word with you."

_Gates, really? _Castle mushed his eyebrows together, squinting at Gates, "...Yes sir?" Unsure of what she wants. The look on her face didn't look so pleasant either.

"I spoke with Detective Ryan and Esposito last night. I asked them why Detective Beckett was upset. They explained to me what happened between the two of you, some kind of nasty argument?"

"Oh," Castle chuckled, he shook his head softly, "Gates, uhm."

"Let me finish."

Castle hushed, even though he needed to clear things up, but Gates interrupted him.

"I don't know what the two of you fought about, but whatever it is, resolve it. I can't have my people working under duress because of you, Richard Castle. You do not work here, and you are not to put that kind of influence on my detectives. The next time something personal happens, you take it outside of my precinct. Are we clear?"

"Yes sir." Castle gulped.

"We're fine." Beckett spoke, she was standing right behind Gates. "We talked it out last night over the phone. It won't happen again, sir."

Gates wasn't startled, she turned to look at Beckett, "Good, I hope not." She continues to finish her journey towards the elevator.

Castle lets out an exhale, a soft chuckle, "She scares me. How did she know you were upset?"

Beckett raised an eyebrow at Castle, "The boys caught us fighting last night. I was a little bitchy after that, and I wasn't entirely professional to Gates." She came around Castle's seat to her desk area, her hand slid around his shoulder for a quick touch feel before taking her seat. "It's over, Castle. Don't worry about it, we resolved it... Right?" She grinned, remembering the morning incident.

"Just a little." Castle shrugged his shoulders a little, "You still got about 97 cups of coffee to go, and that's a lot to make up for."

She laughed a bit, grabbing the fresh cup of coffee he left in front of her, "98, Castle. If you keep up with this, I'm not going to be able to keep up with my end of bargain," taking a sip, giving Castle a wink.

Castle smirked, "It's a good thing I've stocked up."

"Keep up with that ego, writer-boy. You might regret it... Plus, you almost had me busted this morning with Esposito."

"Really? Because of the phone call?"

She grinned, "I took care of it, but he probably thinks I'm up to something naughty. He just doesn't know what." Beckett reached over to grasp his ear, "Pull another stunt like that, and you won't be seeing me much."

"Ow-! Apples, apples!" Castle winced.

She knew Gates and the boys weren't around, and nobody else cared if they were flirting a little. She released the grip, resting her fingertips on the keyboard, pulling up the system database for some research on the case.

Castle rubbed his ear with a smirk, "That wouldn't stop me and you know it." He leaned over, speaking in a hushed tone, "Pull another stunt like this morning, I'll be dragging you down to the floor with me."

Beckett squinted her eyes at him, matching his tone, "Mhm... I suppose the kitchen counter is out of the question?"

Castle shook his head softly, "No... there's the shower we missed out this morning."

"Fine, what about the office?"

_Two can play the game... _"Pool table." Castle continued with a grin.

She bit her bottom lip, her eyes looking around the precinct and her eyes landed at a specific spot, "Interrogation room."

_**DING**_

Castle and Beckett turned their gazes over to the elevator to see who's coming up.

Esposito and Ryan walked out of the elevator with the suspect between the two, Leroy Blacks. Esposito looked over to Beckett, pointing a finger over to the interrogation room quietly. He was gesturing Beckett to prepare for the interrogation, but not only that, he was surprised to see Castle sitting right next to her. "Castle's here..." Esposito whispered softly to Ryan.

"Huh..." Ryan lifted his shoulders in a shrug, "Guess they made up." He took Leroy's arm, dragging him across the bullpen towards the interrogation room.

Esposito stationed himself outside of the interrogation room, staring at the two whom were staring right back at Esposito. _Made up...? That moan... Toe-stub my ass._

Castle and Beckett stood up from their seats, heading over to Esposito. Beckett speaking to Esposito, "You guys take point. Castle and I will watch from the observation room." She took a peek inside to look at Leroy, he looked like a tough nut to crack. She whispered to Esposito while studying the suspect, "Good luck." Beckett handed him the case folder.

"We got this." Esposito took the case envelope in hand, heading in the room and shutting the door behind him. Ryan was already in his chair with Leroy Blacks across the table.

[ Interrogation Room #1 Leroy / Esposito / Ryan ]

Esposito settled down in his seat, opening the case folder, "Alright bro, we have a couple of questions to ask you." He slid out the photograph of the deceased victim towards Leroy, "Know her?"

"Yeah, Uncle Jack's niece. She's a sweetheart, poor girl." Leroy answered.

Ryan leaned over the table, intertwining his fingers, "How did you know the family?"

"We all go way back, me and Uncle Jack's family. We all help each other out in needs, it's what good friends do."

[ Castle / Beckett ]

They both stood in front of the glass, watching the two detectives in action through the one-way mirror. Castle's hands in his pockets, Beckett's arms crossed underneath her bosoms, both sharing the silent. Castle wasn't well-informed on the case due to his behaviour in the past few days, he was a jerk around Beckett, and they never got the chance to fill him in on the case when he stormed out. Clearly, he was somewhat clueless.

"Hmm..." Beckett hummed, listening in and studying Leroy's reactions.

Castle turned his head a little to the side, the corner of his eyes catching Beckett's appearance. He was always fascinated with her expressions, how cute she would get when she puts on her thinking cap. All he could think of was their night together. _Oh god, get out of the gutter, Rick... Get out of the gutter, you goddamn horn-dog._

Beckett swiped her head, catching Castle staring at her.

He whipped his head back to pay full attention to the detectives through the glass. He may have gotten busted, but curiosity always killed the cat, turning his head again to look at Beckett. Catching her scowling at him.

Moment of silent between the two. She couldn't keep her eyes away for good this time; instead she was eyeing his lips, travelling down slowly to his physique body. Thank god she took the time to memorize his naked body this morning, it was much easier to imagine him naked under all these layers of clothing in front of her. _Snap out of it, Kate... You're at work. Focus!_

Castle pivoted his body to face her, he didn't say a word, but just as she was studying him, he studied her back with his hands remaining in his pockets. Not once he hummed nor put on an expression.

_Goddamn it, he's staring... _Kate turned her body around in a complete rotation, leaning her back slightly against the glass window this time. Her hands rested on the frame below the glass. She gave Castle a seductive look, darting her tongue out to lick her lips and nibbling her bottom lip with a small grin. This time, she just couldn't hide it. She didn't want to admit it in her own words that she missed him from this morning, they didn't share a goodbye kiss, but like hell this morning kiss was going to be their last for the day. Her body actions were enough to guide Castle.

Castle approached silently, standing a few inches away in front of Kate with a burning desire in his eyes and staring down at her hazel eyes.

She was inviting. He could tell just by looking in her eyes, she wanted him just as bad as he wanted her. Thoughts raced through his mind, anybody could have walked in, but the last time he checked, Gates left the bullpen, the boys were in the other side of the room, and Lanie working downstairs. Nobody around to interrupt them.

Kate didn't budge, she kept her hands firmly grasped on the wooden frame, eyes locked with his. She refused to make the first move.

"Jesus, Kate..." He muttered. Castle knew this wasn't professional of them to be doing it at work, not when they're supposed to be witnessing the interrogating scene. He whipped his hands out of his pockets to grab her hips further away from the glass, then pushing her strong back against the wall with his body pressed up against hers. Lips crashing down roughly against hers.

[ Interrogation Room #1 Leroy / Esposito / Ryan ]

_**THUD**_

All three in the interrogation room jumped when they heard it. That thud, it was unlikely, but it only happened once. If Beckett wanted something, she would have knocked more than once, but it didn't sound terribly much like a knock either. Esposito and Ryan had their bodies turned around to face the mirror in amazement with questioning faces. Wondering what in the world that was. The two detectives glanced at each other, it was quiet for the next few seconds, then they decided to shrug it off and get back to interrogating the suspect.

"Sorry," Esposito apologized, "What happened then?"

[ Castle / Beckett ]

Kate groaned loudly into the kiss, pushing her tongue fiercely into his mouth. The kiss was somewhat aggressive and passionate. She pressed her pelvic into his crotch, feeling his erection grow against her. Her hands in his hair, pulling him in closer as she spread her legs wider, welcoming Castle's pelvic between her thighs with a hot friction against the frontal of her jeans.

His lips twitched as she groaned in desperation. She was craving for Castle ever since this morning incident, she didn't get the released she needed. Castle unconsciously thrust his pelvic against hers, grinding in a circular motion in the next. His hands running all over her hips, slipping them underneath the space between the glass and her ass, grasping them to pull her pelvic closer.

She held her eyes closed, her nostrils flaring. Her chest heaved as she tried to regulate her breathing in between the kiss, desperate for some air, whispering, "Oh, God, Castle..."

[ Interrogation Room #1 Leroy / Esposito / Ryan ]

Leroy winced when he reached for the report. Esposito had purposefully left the report a little further away from Leroy, he wanted to test the suspect. He knew the victim would have left a nasty gash on the killer, wherever she may have cut him, Lanie wasn't clear on that. From the looks of Leroy, his arms were well, his face was pure, except his torso wasn't when he reached for the report.

"What's the matter, Leroy? You hurt?" Ryan asked, noticing the wincing pain he was in.

"Oh, yeah. I got into a bar fight. It's nothing, you know how it is." Leroy replied with a soft chuckle, reading the report.

_**THUD**_

All three jumped again to the noise.

_Seriously? _Esposito thought, staring at the one way mirror over his shoulder. _What the hell are they doing?_

[ Castle / Beckett ]

Kate's legs wrapped around his waist, her hands returned to the wooden frame for support when Castle held her ass in a tight grip. He unconsciously drove his pelvic against hers once again, resulting the noise when he slammed her back into the wall. They weren't having sex, just crazy to feel each other, and this was almost enough for the time being.

She adjusted her head to the side to catch her breathing, she was breathless. Castle sipped his head down to kiss her neck, grazing his lips with his heated breathing touching her skin. Her eyes opening slowly, panting hard to draw the air in as much as she could. Her quick glance caught the detectives through the one-way mirror, they were whispering to each other and it ended with Ryan nodding his head. He got up from his seat... And he leaving the interrogation room!

Kate knew this was trouble when she saw the commotion going on, "C-Castle, we got to stop!" She knew then the noise they made must have startled them. She didn't think it was that much of a troublesome until she saw what was happening between the detectives. "Stop, stop, stop!" Kate commanded, pushing Castle's shoulders away, her feet coming to rest on the ground.

Castle groaned, removing himself away from Kate in a slow pace. He didn't know what was happening, "Why did you stop?" He tried to steady his breathing pattern, looking at Kate with a grin. He was just as eager as she was.

Kate furrowed her eyebrows at Castle, she quickly fixed up his hair for him. "We can't do it here... We can't," she inhaled a deep breath, "We can't do it here." She eyed the bulge in his jeans, clenching her teeth together, "Oh God, Castle. Come on, fix yourself!" She took a quick glance over her shoulder, Ryan was out of room for good.

He matched her scowling expression, except he was confused. He looked over her shoulder to see what she was looking at, and he saw it. Ryan wasn't in his seat. "Oh Kate, shit! He's coming here?" Castle whispered, straightening his jacket and reaching for his bulge, adjusting it to feel more comfortable, and hopefully make it look less noticeable.

Beckett smirked at the bulge, "Down, boy." She ran her hands through her hair to straighten it out, fixing her work clothing as fast as she could. The duo were quick on their feet, Ryan was taking the time to wander out of the door, closing the door shut and walking a short distance over to the observation room.

"That's not easy, Beckett." Castle groaned, he was ready for Ryan to come through the door anytime, but he was still picturing a ton of nasty images of dead bodies in his head. He heard the doorknob turning, there was no time to be thinking of dead bodies anymore, he grabbed Beckett aside and stood a reasonable distance behind her. That way Castle could hide behind her, hide the lump and it would give him time to calm down.

Beckett wanted to laugh, but she kept her mouth shut when she saw Ryan opening the door. Their eyes giving attention over to Ryan who just appeared, entering the observation room. "What is it, Ryan?" Beckett asked, crossing her arms. She looked a little flushed, but nothing funky or out of state for Ryan to detect. Maybe if it was Esposito, he would have caught on easily.

"We heard some stuff, what was that?" Ryan asked.

Beckett squinted her eyes, playing dumb, "Heard what?"

"Err... Come on, guys. We all heard something, it was like a thud or something. What was it?"

Castle leaned against the glass wall with his shoulder, another minor thud, but it didn't correspond to the ones before that, "Like this?"

Ryan chuckled, "Yeah, something like that."

Castle grinned, "Sorry, I forget how thin this wall is. I was just leaning over, I get a little fidgety."

Beckett picking up after Castle, "I think he's getting bored with the case. Aren't you, Castle?" She turned to look at him, her eyes giving a quick look to the bulge, it was gone. Ryan wouldn't be able to catch her staring at whatever is in front of her as he was standing behind Beckett. She looked back up to Castle's eyes, waiting for a response to convince Ryan.

"It would have been nice if you guys explain what's going on in this case!" Castle whined, "I tried to make Beckett explain, but she kept hushing me, said she needed to focus on you guys."

Ryan laughed a bit, "I'm sure she'll tell you, I got to get back over there." He left the observation room, closing the door behind him.

Beckett lets out a deep exhale, closing her eyes. That was a close call, but she was relieved Esposito wasn't the one to come around and check on them. She opened her eyes, watching Ryan through the mirror, he was getting back in his seat.

"That was close." Castle muttered, watching Ryan as well. "Pretty exciting actually."

"You don't say?" Beckett smirked, "We should hold it off til later."

Castle chuckled, "Until lunch?"

"Oh Castle," Beckett's eyes gazed over to Castle, "you're not getting me that easily."

He matched with her gaze, scowling, "You... Kate, you made the move!"

"No, I didn't." She crossed her arms, "I stood there, you came on to me."

He cleared his throat, "Yes, but only because you were eye-raping me first."

There was commotion going on the other side of the mirror, Ryan and Esposito were up from their seats with an officer entering the room, slapping the cuffs on Leroy Blacks. Beckett and Castle didn't see what was happening, they were too focused with each other at hand.

"I was so not!" Kate scoffed, "You did that first."

"I-, no Kate, I wasn't."

Kate narrowed her eyes at Castle, she was staring him down.

Castle laughed nervously, "...W-What? I'm not allowed to look, is that it? You didn't set some ground rules this morning when you left me hanging." He crossed his arm to mimic her position, facing her.

Kate shook her head softly and scoffed once with a grin on her face, "Good things come to wait."

"Oh no, don't you dare spring that on me. I've waited a damn long time, Detective Beckett."

"I'm sure you can handle a few more hours, Castle."

Esposito opened the door just as he heard Beckett, "Handle a few more hours of what?" He asked Beckett, barging into the observation room with Ryan behind him.

Beckett's eyes widened, her back was facing Esposito, but she didn't hesitate to turn around, "Castle was just..." She licked her lips, she didn't know what the hell to say to Esposito.

Esposito rose his eyebrows, waiting for Beckett to answer.

"He was..." Beckett groaned, "Never mind that. What are you guys doing out of the interrogation room?"

"Beckett... We arrested Leroy. He confessed, did you not see that?" Ryan asked.

Esposito joined in, "Yeah... We caught Leroy the minute he reached for the report. He was in pain."

Beckett stammered, "R-Right, yeah." She battered her eyelashes, "Good work, Esposito." Clearing her throat next. Castle remained silent behind Beckett.

Esposito knew something was up, seeing that Beckett wasn't focused on the case after all. What the hell was she doing? "Poor girl was too traumatized to leave when he freed her, she attacked him instead."

"Yeah," Beckett nodded, "Yeah... Well, it happens."

Esposito didn't stop, he wanted to catch Beckett red-handed, "It's crazy what family do for money, huh? "

Beckett lost her focus on the case the moment she laid her eyes on Castle during the interrogation. Goddamn it to hell, that wasn't professional of Kate, but she caught the hint that Esposito sent Ryan over in the middle of it. He was hoping Ryan would walk in on them. Oh like hell Esposito's going to catch them doing the deed, "I know. I watched the whole thing, and I heard the confession. What's your point?" She was bluffing, it was the least she could do to throw him off.

Esposito narrowed his eyes at Beckett, "No point." _Damn it, Beckett's smart. _"Well, the case's over. Got to go fill out some paperwork, you can notify the DA for me."

_Hell no. _She thought, "It's your collar, Esposito. You do the honors." Beckett smirked, walking past Esposito and Ryan to leave the observation room. Ryan had no idea what the hell was going on, he remained silent with Castle, listening in on their conversation.

Esposito stared at Beckett when she walked out, switching his stare over to Castle who was standing still. Hoping Castle would be the one to break if he could just stare down at him, just stare down at Castle and scare him into talking.

Castle gulped, he needed to avoid the stare-down, it wasn't getting to him, but it was a pathetic attempt, "Excuse me, my coffee's getting cold." He dashed out of the observation room to leave the two detectives alone, smirking.


	13. Chapter 13

**Sex Therapy**

**A/N: Esposito's catching on... What would you like to see happen? ;) Getting caught by someone? Some naughty sneaking around? A game of Truth or Dare? Perhaps, just perhaps...**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Castle.**

* * *

><p><span>[ 12<span>th Precinct – Esposito / Ryan ]

"Javi, don't leave me out of the loop, tell me what's going on?" Ryan asked Esposito, sitting next to him. They were back at their office desk right after the interrogation room. They had just arrested Leroy Blacks, the precinct was once again quiet. The two detectives stole a few quick glances over at Castle and Beckett as they were back in their seats as well, talking to each other in a hushed tone.

Esposito leaned back in his chair, smirking. He shook his head with his arms crossed, leaving the paperwork unfinished, "Bro, they're doing it."

Ryan scoffed, "We say that all the time, it's not true."

"Oh no, it's definitely on."

"...Do you know something I don't?" Ryan narrowed his eyes at Esposito, "W-what, did you catch them or something?"

Esposito leaned over and scooted the rolling chair closer to Ryan, whispering, "Okay, first of all... Remember the sex retreat? The hickey?"

"Yeah, so?" Ryan glanced over to the couple.

"Do you really think Beckett would let a stranger do that to her? With Castle being there, he would have been extremely upset if somebody else gave her the hickey. You know how jealous he gets."

Ryan was catching on, "...Except he wasn't at the time, he joked around instead."

"Exactly, now remember when Castle came in with the hottie? Beckett got pissed, man... And the heated argument you told me about? With Castle storming out of the place?" Esposito continued.

"You think..." Ryan's eyes widened, looking back to Esposito, "They're..."

Esposito chuckled, "When I called Becks this morning, I think she may have accidentally moaned."

"Moaned?" Ryan quirked his eyebrows, "As in... Sexual moan?"

"Yeah, bro. It sounded like it, but she said she stubbed her toe. I believed her until I saw Castle came in today."

"Oh yeah, they're definitely doing it." Ryan nodded with a grin, feeding the birds with Esposito.

[ Castle / Beckett ]

Castle leaned over closer to Beckett, but within a reasonable distance, whispering, "They're talking about us, aren't they? You said you handled the situation this morning, right?"

"Yeah, I did." Beckett took a quick peek over to the boys, they didn't look away; instead the detectives gave away an enormous smirk on their faces, nodding their heads at the couple. "They're onto something... Okay, play along with me, Castle. We've got to throw them off."

Castle looked over as well. All fours were giving each other a staring contest while whispering, "How are we going to do that? They're detectives, you know?"

Beckett looked back to Castle with a smirk on her face, she came up with a temporary idea, "Castle, I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?" Castle matched her glance, eyebrows raising.

She pinched his ear hard in a sudden, slightly twisting it. Castle yelped loud, jumping in his seat, "APPLES, APPLES!"

[ Esposito / Ryan ]

"Oh!" Esposito and Ryan said in unison, narrowing their eyes at the two. Esposito's hand in fist close to his mouth, "Damn, that's gotta hurt."

Ryan chuckled, "They're throwing us off. We should get back to work, pretend we know nothing's happening."

"Yeah, sounds like a good plan. We'll have to come up with something later." Esposito shook his head, chuckling along with Ryan and patting him on the arm, "Hey, I'll bet you 20 they were doing it in the observation room."

"I'll take that bet, there's no way they were doing it in the observation room." Ryan bumped his fist with Esposito's, "I walked in, there wasn't anything going on."

"Tell me, were they sweating?"

Ryan squinted his eyes, trying to remember the look on their faces when he walked in on them, "...No, I don't think so."

"Flushed?"

"...Err," Ryan did recall Beckett being a little flushed, but they were convincing enough to fool Ryan that there wasn't anything going on. "Why did I take the stupid bet?" Ryan muttered, he was catching on.

Esposito chuckled, giving full attention back into paperwork, "Look away, bro."

And Ryan did.

[ Castle / Beckett ]

At the corner of Beckett's eyes, she caught the two of them looking away, releasing the hold on Castle's ear. They bought it, or at least she thought they did.

Castle lets out a quick sigh of relief, rubbing his ear, "You could have warned me, you know? That really hurt."

She smirked, looking at Castle with her full undivided, "Wouldn't be realistic enough."

He stared at Beckett with a smirk, "You owe me then."

"I don't owe you anything." Beckett whispered, switching her attention over to the paperwork.

"Yes, you do."

"Shut up, Castle."

Beckett's phone rang moments later, she picked up the call and held the cell to her ear, "Beckett."

Castle was staring at the two detectives constantly, trying to catch their attention but they were too busy avoiding his stare, focusing on the paperwork.

"Got it, thanks." Beckett hung up, "That was dispatch," she spoke to Castle before looking over to the detectives, "We got a body," shouting over to the boys, "Esposito, Ryan, let's go."

* * *

><p>"This is the crime scene?" Castle asked as he got out of the car, "... I used to come here all the time with Alexis."<p>

Beckett closed the car door, walking around the Crown Victoria parked on the curbside and standing next to Castle, "I come here once in a while when I'm craving for something sweet." Both glanced up to the sign, a large white rectangular billboard with a gigantic neon-pink named "Sweet-Tooth". It was a candy shop. "Do you know the owner?" Beckett asked Castle.

"It's a family business, I don't know who the real owner is. They're always changing shifts."

"Alright. Come on, Castle, Lanie's waiting for us."

Ryan and Esposito were already on their tasks, they were the first detectives to arrive on scene and immediately went to work, questioning the witness and checking for surveillance cameras.

Lanie arrived on scene long before anybody did to get a head start, she wanted to be the first on site to make sure nobody would tamper the evidence. A nice head start to send the detectives away with valuable information. The quicker she gets the full report, the faster they can close the case.

Beckett and Castle stepped into the store. A small store with several different candies in divided plastic boxes against the walls all around except for the center of the area where lies the cashier desk. The body was right behind the cashier, blood splatter on the wall and a little over the desk.

"Ugh," Castle disgusted by the sight of the splattered wall, but the body wasn't visible. He studied the surroundings, all these candies going to waste, what a shame. "Now who would want to murder someone in a candy shop? It doesn't make sense."

"We'll find that out later, Castle. I suppose you don't have a theory?" Beckett asked, walking over to the cashier register and snapping a pair of latex gloves on.

"Other than an annoying, angry kid who decides to shoot the victim over some candy? Other than that, nothing." Castle reached to grab a lollipop in a cylinder can from the cashier desk, but Beckett slapped his hand, "Ow!"

"Don't touch anything." Beckett stared, then she carefully leaned over the thin cashier desk, "Lanie? Looks tight, I can't see the body very well."

"Don't worry about it," Lanie got up from her squatting position, careful not to step on anything, "What I can tell you is it looks like a pop and drop. Victim is male, 46 years old named James Owens. Got that from the ID," Lanie handed the ID over to Beckett, "Money's still in the cash register, so it's not a robbery. We're lucky to find the ID, the face is a mess. Looks like somebody pumped a round of shotgun, and blew his brains out."

"Nice, very nice." Beckett shook her head in disgust, studying the ID card, "Time of death?"

"This happened just a few hours ago, I'd say roughly 9 to 9:30 AM this morning." Lanie answered.

Esposito came up behind the two, "Yo, I just checked with the tech guys, there's a surveillance camera in-store. They'll send the tapes over, we'll go back and check it out."

Beckett looked over to Esposito, "No witness?"

Ryan joined Esposito a few seconds later, overhearing the conversation, "No witness to murder, except for the grandma outside who freaked out, she came in to buy something for her grandchildren, saw the blood and called 911."

Castle stayed out-of-the-way, he was facing the candy boxes against the wall. It is truly a shame they're all going to waste. He couldn't help but to steal a few lollipops from the containers and putting them in his jacket pocket. All of this was done quickly, he caught Ryan staring at him and shaking his head at Castle. Castle pressed his finger to his lips, "Shh."

"Castle, what are you doing?" Beckett asked, catching the 'shh'.

He looked to Beckett, a nervous chuckle, "Nothing. So, not a robbery huh?"

"I don't think so, we'll need to have a look at the tape. Lanie, if there's anything new, let me know."

"Sure." Lanie nodded.

"I'll notify the next of kin." Beckett snapped her latex gloves off, discarding them into her jacket. "Let's go, Castle."

"Right behind you." He spoke, following Beckett outside of the store.

Lanie hurried over, walking past Esposito and Ryan, "Beckett, wait!" She shouted to stop Beckett and Castle stayed put as well. As she came up to Beckett, she snapped her own latex gloves off, resting the clipboard underneath her arm, "Need a quick word with you." She gripped Beckett's arm, dragging her away down the street a little further away from Castle.

"What's going on, Lanie?" She asked, being dragged away from Castle. He stood still next to the car, wondering what the hell's going on between the two, but shrugged it off to respect their privacy of girl talk.

Lanie came to a full stop, a reasonable distance away from Castle. She looked over at Castle, making sure he was far enough to not be able to hear, eyes going back to Beckett, "Girl, you need to explain."

"Explain what?" Beckett asked.

"First of all, what happened between the two of you? You came to me the other day, and you were pissing all over writer-boy. You didn't want to talk about it, and now it seems like you're okay with him. Girl, you better talk because I have no idea what's going on, and I'm your friend too."

She groaned, "Lanie, I'm working."

"I don't care, hon. I'm not letting it go until you tell me a little something."

"Castle and I are fine, we sorted it out. We had a little disagreement, but we worked it all out and we're good friends. Let's just move on and put it in the past."

"Uh huh," Lanie narrowed her eyes, "Ever since the retreat, the two of you have been acting differently. What really happened there, Beckett?"

Beckett smirked, "Lanie, nothing happened. I've got to get back to work." She started to walk backwards, still facing Lanie, "Hey, keep me posted, huh? I'll catch you later." She turned to head back to her car.

"I'm bringing alcohol!" Lanie shouted, "So you can spill your beans!"

Beckett waved her hand high up in the air for Lanie, a gesture to say goodbye.

By the time Castle and Beckett left the scene of crime, Lanie came to the front of the candy store where Esposito and Ryan had just come out. "Hey Javi, Kevin." Lanie greeted.

"Hola Chica, what's going on?" Esposito replied.

Lanie looked over to Beckett's car drifting off into distance, then back to Esposito, "Did you know they're okay again? I thought they were fighting, Beckett came to me the other day, and she was pissed."

Esposito grinned, "I think they're doing it."

"Yeah," Ryan chuckled, "Javi told me something interesting. Tell her, man."

Lanie listened as Esposito explained the whole story with the moan over the phone, the arrival of Castle, them being friendly with each other, it was all too fishy. Lanie shook her head after the storytelling was over, "I don't know, that sounds just like any other day for them. I'm not convinced."

"We'll prove it to you," Esposito spoke, "You just wait and see."

"Don't do anything stupid, Javi. Got to work," Lanie walked past them, but she came to a full stop before entering the store and turned around, "let me know if you have some solid proof. Beckett isn't telling me anything, and you better damn well find something out for me."

* * *

><p>Beckett and Castle went to visit the family. They were devastated to hear the death of their dear one, neither one of them knew of any enemies he would've had. The wife mentioned having debt problems at some point, it had gotten really bad until the husband brought in quite a few dough. Things at home were getting better. It wasn't much, but at least it was something for Beckett to work with.<p>

Arriving back at the precinct, the two immediately went straight to their chairs, settling down. It's been a long afternoon. Beckett's phone rang by the time she sat down, answering it with a slight frustrated sigh, "Beckett."

Castle stared over at the guys, they were up from their seats, working on Ryan's computer. It looked like they caught something worthy to show.

"OK, thanks Lanie. We'll be down in a bit." Beckett hung up the phone.

"Guys, we got something on tape." Ryan spoke loud and clear, "I'm sending it to your computer, Beckett." Esposito and Ryan hurried over to Beckett's desk just as she was pulling up the video file. The four huddled up close to take a thorough look at the video surveillance clip.

Ryan took control over Beckett's mouse, speeding up the video to the important part, "OK, now watch this," Ryan spoke, pressing play.

A large male in a ski mask approached the cashier, speaking to the victim with a 12-gauge shotgun resting by his side. The victim looked scared, he held his hands up and shook his head, trying to negotiate. After a minute into the video, the killer finally brought up the shotgun, pumped it fast and blew his head off. Immediately fled the scene afterwards.

"Jeez." Castle spoke, "That wasn't pretty."

Beckett shook her head softly, "Yeah, someone wanted to erase his face. There weren't any footprints on scene?"

"Beckett, there's a bunch of them. It would be pointless." Esposito answered, "This is the only thing we have."

"Damn it," Ryan sighed, "I hate pop and drops."

Beckett nodded her head in agreement, "These cases are the hardest ones to close. Lanie might have something for us." She pushed the chair back, Esposito and Ryan went back to their desks, "Come on, Castle."

* * *

><p>Beckett and Castle made an entry into the morgue, walking side by side towards the male victim on table. Lanie stood by the table with reports on her usual clipboard, jotting down notes, "Was wondering when you guys were coming."<p>

"We had to check out the surveillance tape, what you got for us?" Beckett asked, waiting patiently.

"I found some drug substance on the body, it was hidden in a secured patch of his jacket," Lanie held up the small bag of crystal meth, "Crystal methamphetamine, I ran toxicology, and it turns out the victim wasn't using."

"Huh, drugs." Beckett took the bag, holding it up in the light and studying the crystal meth with a hint of strawberry colouring, "Possible he could be dealing?" She asked, handing the bag back to Lanie. Beckett noticed the colouring, but she was no expert when it comes to drugs, it wasn't that common among her usual homicide cases.

Lanie took the bag back, "Mhm, if I were you I'd have the lab guys check all rock-like candy in the store. There have been police reports that drug dealers are now using strawberry colouring in meth, it is also known as "Strawberry Quick" and it looks like pop rocks candy that sizzle in your mouth. It's a perfect disguise."

"I've heard something like that before." Castle spoke, taking out a wrapped cherry flavoured lollipop out of his jacket without realizing what he was doing. He was craving for something sweet, and he has a couple of extras in his jacket, "So it's safe to say... Our killer might be a drug addict, knew where the drug stash was, or the victim owe money."

"Castle... What are you doing?" Beckett asked, eyeing the lollipop, "Did you take that from the crime scene?"

"...N-no." Castle glanced down at the lollipop, continuing to unwrap it, "I... was... at the dentist... this morning?"

Lanie rose her eyebrows, "You're a terrible liar, you better not be eating that, writer-boy. Fork it over."

"Oh come on! There's a wrapper! Why else would he leave the drugs out for children to take?"

"He's got a point." Lanie hummed.

Beckett turned to Lanie, "I don't care." Then back to Castle, "Castle, I told you not to touch things, let alone stealing! Give it to me." She tried to reach for it, but Castle jerked his hand away, "Castle."

"You're feisty, didn't your parents tell you not to take candy from strangers?" Castle finished unwrapping the wrapper, shoving the plastic piece in his pocket, "Bugger off, I'm craving for sugar."

"Castle." Beckett lowered her voice, "I mean it."

Castle looked over to Lanie, "She's bossy."

"Tell me about it, sugar-plum." Lanie responded.

He smirked, looking back at Beckett, she looked quite furious with her scowling expression, "...Okay, fine. I have plenty in my jacket, you can have one if you like."

Beckett tried to reach for it again, but Castle was too quick, he jumped back and held the lollipop in air.

"Give it." She demanded.

"No!"

Beckett knew the lollipop would be safe, but you can never know. Besides, she truly did want to show Castle who's the boss, and he wasn't giving in. Just because they're together doesn't mean things would be different at work, and she needed to remind him again. She stepped in close to Castle, tried to jump for the lollipop he held up high in the air, but it was useless. Beckett finally gave up, backing away, "Fine. Suck on it, you immature child."

Castle grinned, "Don't mind if I do." He had just won the battle. Castle brought the lollipop back down, looking at Lanie with a huge smile on his face. Lanie stared at the two in amazement, she had never seen them play around like that. Beckett was always the mature one, being professional and all that, but this was new. She was beginning to think if Esposito might actually be right.

Beckett watched Castle dangerously quiet, she may have backed out, but she kept her eyes on the lollipop. Just as Castle brings it to his mouth, she stealthy reached for it and swift it out of his grip, taking the lollipop away.

_Victory._

"Hey!" Castle's hand opened up, feeling the loss of the stick, "Come on!"

"Uh huh," Beckett's lips curved into a mischievous smirk, she purposefully held the lollipop close to her lips, sliding her tongue past her moist lips, running it over the ball-shaped lollipop in a slow stroke while eyeing Castle seductively.

Lanie's eyebrows arched highly, watching Beckett. What is this? It seemed like she wasn't after the lollipop for the sake of his health, she took it in spite of teasing him? That is not the Beckett she knew, this is the actual wild, flirty side she'd seen when she's drunk, except she isn't drunk at all in this situation.

Castle opened his jaw, trying to communicate, but her eyes were mesmerizing. He shifted his gaze from her eyes to the lollipop, watching that pink-coloured tongue at work.

Beckett wasn't going to tease him long, she knew she's in the morgue, and doing it in front of Lanie wasn't ideal. Lanie would question her later if she keeps up with the teasing, but before she ended the tease, Beckett rolled the lollipop from the tip of her tongue into her mouth and closing her mouth. She then tugged the lollipop out with her lips wrapped around the ball-shaped, making a pop noise once it was out, salvaging the taste, "Cherry, huh?"

Castle's mouth grew wider, stammering.

Done with the teasing, she promptly set the lollipop back in her mouth and looking over to Lanie, leaving the ball-shaped to rest on the side of her mouth, speaking funny, "Keeh mee postad." She tucked both hands in her jacket pockets, leaving the morgue and leaving Castle alone with Lanie.

Score 1 for Beckett, 0 for Castle.

He was too stunned to move, he kept staring into space, "...I... Did she..."

"Uh huh." Lanie spoke, grinning.

"...She..." Castle turned to look at Lanie, pointing over his shoulder, "She..."

Lanie held her eyebrows up, "...Yes?"

"...I'm, uh... Going to go." Castle walked backwards and keeping his eyes on Lanie. He lost himself into the teasing of Kate Beckett's, the thing she does with her tongue was mesmerizing and evil, but ridiculously hot. Castle's back bumped into the empty table behind him, causing a small rattle noise. He apologized before storming out in slight embarrassment.

"...Holy shit." Lanie laughed a little, fishing the cell phone out of her pocket to send a short text message to Esposito.

**Lanie: u convinced me, lets talk**

[ Message sent ]

Lanie laughed again, the image of Beckett teasing Castle with the lollipop burned in her head.

* * *

><p>Castle and Beckett riding the elevator back up to the homicide floor. She still has the lollipop in mouth, sucking the life out of it as she kept her hands in pockets, humming softly and watching the floor numbers switching lights. Castle stared at Beckett the entire trip over to the elevator from the morgue, just staring her lips puckered and wrapped around the white stick.<p>

Beckett turned her head slowly with her eyebrows lifted, looking at Castle and wondering why the hell he was staring at her like that. Oh, yeah. The lollipop, she almost forgot. She puts on a smirk, "Whmmat?" She asked, the lollipop was in the way of her speech.

He shook his head softly, turning his body to face her, "That was mine."

She took the lollipop out of her mouth, licking her lips to clean up the juicy cherry flavoured saliva and swallowing it, "You said you have more in your pocket."

"I like the cherry one."

She laughed a little, "Really? Because I'm a fan of cherries?"

"I like the taste of cherries."

"We'll get you another one, Castle." Beckett took her other hand out of the pocket, patting him on the chest a couple of times.

"No, I just want this one." Castle placed a hand on her shoulder to spin her body to face him. He swooped in close to Beckett with a hand cupping her cheek, lifting her head to plant a kiss on her lips. Their lips parting slightly as his tongue forcefully pushed into her mouth, snaking around over her own as his full lips pressed into hers, tasting the sweet cherry flavoured left on her tongue.

Beckett felt herself tremble a little and moaned as he kissed her lips hungrily, craving for the taste of cherry she had sucked on in the last few minutes. She aggressively returned the kiss, nipping and biting his lower lip. Their bodies a few inches away from each other.

Castle knew the elevator rides are always short, in order to prevent them getting caught, he was the first to break apart from the kiss, nuzzling her nose with his gently as they breathed, feeling each others hot breath since they were so close. Finally, Castle stepped away, running his tongue over the seam of his lips, "Cherry." He smiled, all he wanted was a taste, and he got it.

Beckett leaned her back against the elevator wall, heavily panting. She was now the one feeling weak in the knees, staring at Castle in lust, "Rick..." Her hand still holding on the lollipop stick, leaving it unattended.

_**DING**_

The elevator doors slid open to the extent, Castle was the first to step out of the elevator box. Beckett remained against the wall a few seconds more after Castle walked out. As she saw the metal doors closing, she quickly stepped through to make it out just in time. _Holy. _After all this time with Castle, not even a full day went by since they first hooked up, and she's aching bad for him.

Score 1 for Castle, tied with Beckett.

* * *

><p>"So what did I tell ya, huh?" Esposito spoke, walking in the morgue with his arms wide open, "Huh? What happened? Was I right?"<p>

Lanie smirked, "Don't start with your ego pride, Javi. I saw a little something, and I thought I was going crazy."

"What happened, Chica?" Esposito came to lay his forearms on the empty table, the victim was shipped off into the freezer.

"Castle stole some lollipops from the crime scene," Lanie held up a finger, "and get this, Beckett tried to fight for it."

"That's all?"

"I'm not done yet!" Lanie settled the clipboard down on to the table, "She gave up fighting for it, and when Castle brought his guard down, she took it, and she teased him with the lollipop."

Esposito started to laugh a bit, "...W-what kind of teasing?"

"With her tongue, Javi! She was looking at him all dirty, licking and sucking it right in front of me."

"No way, Beckett did that?"

"Believe it, Javi. Castle was weak in the knees, and he walked out dazing."

"Chica, I'm telling you, there's something going on. Ryan and I need to somehow throw Beckett off, but so far we haven't gotten a solid plan."

Lanie hummed, "I think I've got one."

Esposito stood up straight with a grin, "I'm listening."

"Beckett said a few things to me... Naughty things of what she would do to Castle." Lanie thought, why not? Beckett didn't make her sworn to not tell anybody, it wouldn't be her fault of she 'accidentally' slip up a few things Beckett said. "She said some things of what she would do to Castle, and you my boy... You're going to repeat some of the stuff to Beckett, and make sure Castle's listening."

"You bad girl."

* * *

><p>"Hey Ryan, check the financial record," Beckett spoke to Ryan, hanging around his office desk, "Our victim might be a dealer, his wife said they were having an issue with debt until the money started rolling in. I want to know where the money's from, I want to know who he's with, and I want you to find out who else worked shifts at the store, and interview everyone."<p>

"Sure." Ryan nodded, picking up his phone that just started ringing.

Beckett took a fresh look around, Castle was in his usual seat, and Esposito was nowhere to be seen, "Where's Esposito?"

Ryan held the speaker part of the phone away from his mouth, "I think he went to see Lanie."

"...Lanie, huh." She scowled with a chuckle, muttering, "What are you up to, Javi..."

"Alright, thanks." Ryan hung up the phone, "There's someone here to see you, officer's bringing her around."

"Who is it?" She asked.

Veronica came around the corner into the bullpen view with an officer by her side, carrying her jacket in her arms. The same good ol' Veronica from the resort striding over to Beckett the moment she spotted Beckett with a soft smile. The officer she came in with left her alone. "Heeeey Katherine!"

"You have got to be kidding me..." Beckett muttered, she was clearly not amused.

Castle's back was facing the crowd, playing with his phone until he heard the familiar voice. His eyes widened, shifted in his seat to look over his shoulder, it was Veronica. "Oh God, no..."

"Not today." Beckett grunted, forcing a smile on her face, "Hello Veronica."

"Long time no see, you look good, Katherine." Veronica spoke, she was looking a little different without the slutty outfit, she was in her black jeans with a long-sleeved light sweater. "Could I speak with you privately?" Veronica looked over Beckett's shoulder, spotting Castle, but she didn't make some sort of greet to Castle; instead she looked back to Beckett, "Please?"

She seemed different, Beckett thought. "Sure, follow me." Guiding Veronica over to the meeting room. Once they were in, she closed the door shut, "What brings you here?"

"I came to apologize, Katherine, err sorry. Detective Beckett," Veronica laughed a bit, "I keep forgetting you prefer Detective Beckett."

"Apologize for what?" Beckett cleared her throat, resting her hands on hips, "I was doing my job."

"Oh, I know that, and you're good at your job. I mean," she laughed again, "You caught the killer in a retreat full of married people, you could have looked for others, and yet you managed to catch my ex-husband."

"Yeah, well thanks. It's instinct." Beckett crossed her arms, "Ex-husband?"

"Yep," Veronica leaned her bum against the rectangular table, "I filed for divorce right after he got charged guilty in trial. I really thought he was innocent, and then he just blew up at the prosecutor. I thought you would be in court to watch?"

Beckett sighed, "I'm a busy woman, Veronica. I had a case right after your husband's, and a few others. Not everyone shows up. Sorry to hear about Sebastian."

"Don't worry about it, it really opened my eyes. I got sick of screwing around, it wasn't right, but now I'm looking for a good guy, and I'm ready to move on."

"That's good, I wish you the best of luck then." Beckett's gaze moved over to the window, seeing Esposito strolling in the bullpen, catching eye contact with his, he was smirking. _Doesn't look good... Lanie might have told him about the lollipop, shit!_ "Veronica, you want me to accept your apology?"

"You don't really have to, I mean... I wasn't exactly your favourite type of girl."

"Do one thing for me, and we're good." Beckett smirked, looking back to Veronica, "Nothing bad, I promise."

Veronica raised her eyebrows, "...What is it then?"


End file.
